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In final campaign flurry, Netanyahu rallies right-wing, Herzog visits Western Wall
With Israel preparing to go to the polls tomorrow, Likud leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headlined a large right-wing rally in Tel Aviv and pledged an uncompromising approach to potential land concessions.
The final polls before tomorrow’s election indicate that the Zionist Union, headed by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, is heading for a four-seat victory. Warning against such a prospect, Netanyahu told an estimated crowd of 25,000 people that the Zionist Union would divide Jerusalem. By contrast, Netanyahu pledged that “as long as Likud is in power, we won’t divide Jerusalem, we won’t make concessions, we won’t withdraw from land.” Acknowledging the possibility that Zionist Union may triumph on Tuesday, Netanyahu said “the size of the gap between the large parties will decide the question” of who will be asked to form the next government.
Meanwhile, Herzog countered Netanyahu’s claims by visiting the Western Wall yesterday. He said, “I will know how to protect the strength and power of Jerusalem and its residents,” explaining that, “My family has been rooted and intertwined with Jerusalem for generations.”
Yesterday’s events followed a brief spar between the two leaders on Channel Two’s Meet the Press. Following a studio interview with Herzog, Netanyahu joined from a remote location and charged that Herzog and Livni would “withdraw immediately and are not willing to step up and take a real stand that would protect our security interests.” Herzog retorted, “The international community knows you’re weak” and “do not accept your position.”
Also yesterday, Netanyahu told Army Radio that if he heads the next government, then he would offer Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon the chance to become finance minister. It is thought that Likud’s strength in the polls has diminished in recent weeks in part due to a shift by some traditional Likud supporters towards Kulanu. However, Kahlon dismissed Netanyahu’s offer saying, “Netanyahu had already promised me the Israel Lands Administration and the Finance Ministry in the past, but did not keep [his word].”