Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu let go by one of his lieutenants
Zeev Elkin (l.) And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (c.) In Jerusalem on May 13, 2018 (Illustrative photo).
POOL / AFP
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2 min
In Israel, the prime minister has just suffered a setback.
In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is starting his election campaign, was let go by one of his most loyal lieutenants.
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From our Jerusalem correspondent
,
Sami Boukhelifa
The now ex-Israeli Minister of Water, Zeev Elkin, killed two birds with one stone.
He slammed both the government door and that of Likud, the party of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Skillful politician, once confidant of the Prime Minister, here he is with the rivals.
He joins the very young political formation New Hope, launched in early December by Gideon Saar, also a former Likud, who has turned his back on Benjamin Netanyahu.
A "political earthquake" for the press
Even if the polls put the Prime Minister's party in pole position in the next legislative elections in March, this defection clearly risks weakening it by leading to a dispersion of votes.
► To read also: Dissolution of the Knesset: Israel, "gold medal for political instability"
The Israeli press describes this departure as a "
political earthquake
", but not powerful enough to "
collapse
" the fortress of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Those close to the Prime Minister, for their part, consider this defection as a political mistake.
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