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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves after addressing members of his right-wing party bloc at a conference in Tel Aviv |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu easily won a vote to keep the Likud party helm, the party said on Friday, in a boost ahead of what is likely to be a hard-fought general election in March.
A Likud tally gave Netanyahu 72.5% of votes in Thursdayโs party ballot, against 27.5% for challenger Gideon Saar, who conceded defeat, tweeting that he would now back the incumbent โfor the sake of a Likud victory in the (general) electionโ.
The results awaited official confirmation by Israelโs Elections Committee.
The challenge by Saar, a former education and interior minister, had added to pressures that have mounted this year on the four-term premier, who is under indictment and fighting for political survival.
In November, Netanyahu was charged with corruption in three criminal cases and he has twice failed to form a government in the wake of two inconclusive national ballots, held in April and September.
Netanyahuโs centrist rival in those elections, Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party, was also unable to form a coalition government, leading to political deadlock and an unprecedented third election on March 2.
Netanyahu has cast the legal case against him as a political witch-hunt orchestrated by the media and an Israeli left hoping to oust him.
Though the troubles of โKing Bibiโ, as he is nicknamed by his fans, do not seem to have dented the loyalty Netanyahu commands among his supporters, some Likud members have said it is time for fresh leadership.
Netanyahu had played down Saarโs challenge, talking up his own security credentials and international prowess.
Thanking supporters for the โhugeโ Likud leadership victory, Netanyahu tweeted that he would โcontinue leading the State of Israel to unprecedented achievementsโ.
REUTERS
