From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Likud squabbles with upstart rebels Erdan, Edelstein over who’s more right
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud says former party stalwarts Yuli Edelstein and Gilad Erdan are “embittered fake right-wingers” who will help the prime minister’s opponents gain power.
Erdan and Edelstein, both former Likud ministers, announced last week the formation of a new right-wing party meant to capture Likud voters similarly dissatisfied with the direction the party has gone in under Netanyahu. They vow to push against ultra-Orthodox military draft exemptions and to seek to be part of a broad consensus government.
In a first official reaction to the unnamed party’s rollout, Likud charges that Edelstein and Erdan “are working to steal votes and transfer them to the fraudulent government of the left bloc headed by Eisenkot with Yair Golan and the Muslim Brotherhood.”
In response, Erdan releases a statement attacking Likud for being the one stealing right-wing votes.
“Those stealing the votes of right-wing voters are the ones who perpetuate draft evasion and abandon the families of soldiers and service members,” the statement says.
The Times of Israel Community.