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Wednesday, June 10, 2026
After Trump raised doubts, Likud says Netanyahu will seek reelection
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party says he will run in the upcoming elections, after a comment by US President Donald Trump appeared to call into question whether the Israeli premier would seek reelection.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu will run in the upcoming elections — and with God’s help, he will win,” the party says in a statement.
Earlier, Trump told ABC News that he did not know whether Netanyahu planned to run in the upcoming elections, which must take place by October 27.
“I don’t know, he’s had an amazing career,” Trump said, according to a post on X by ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl. “Does he want to continue? Because, you know he’s a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister.”
Likud held elections in November for its municipal branches and powerful Central Committee for the first time in almost 14 years. With no challenger to Netanyahu’s leadership, party members were instead asked merely to approve his continued tenure as party chairman.
A poll released yesterday by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 61 percent of Israelis overall, and 57% of Jewish Israelis, don’t think Netanyahu should run.
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