Likud says Netanyahu considering calling leadership primary

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering calling a snap primary for leadership of the Likud party.

“The purpose of the move is shattering the illusion of a ‘rebellion in Likud’ that other parties are wishing for, something which is holding them up from joining a unity government,” Likud says in a statement.

The statement comes as Netanyahu is struggling to form a government after last month’s elections, with the rival Blue and White party ruling out sitting in government with him due to pending corruption charges and rebuffing his calls to join him in a coalition of right-wing and religious parties.

It also comes ahead of the swearing-in of the new Knesset this afternoon and as Netanyahu’s lawyers attend a second day of pre-indictment hearings in a series of cases the premier faces charges in.