Likud’s Gideon Sa’ar says many party members oppose new elections

MK Gideon Sa’ar, a Likud party rival of Prime Minister Netanyahu, comes out strongly against the possibility of new elections amid a standoff over the state budget.

In an interview with Channel 13 news, Sa’ar says Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz will be at fault if elections are held because they don’t solve the impasse over the budget.

“Many of my friends in Likud think like me that there shouldn’t be elections,” Sa’ar says.

He says going to elections in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying economic crisis would lead to a further loss of trust in the political system.

“Elections will be a direct blow to the country,” Sa’ar says.

He stresses that elections aren’t a foregone conclusion and that if there’s goodwill on both sides a solution on the budget can be reached before the August 25 deadline.

“Fifteen days is a very long time in Israeli politics,” he says.