Has race to Israeli premiership begun?
After quitting the government, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon declared that he will run against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the next elections.
Former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon hasn’t officially left the Likud, but it is only a procedural matter. Soon he will announce the establishment of a new right-wing party, at the head of which he would run for the job of prime minister in the next election. Ya'alon’s party will appeal to the so-called sane, right-wing and liberal electorate, but also to the heart of the political center that is now controlled by Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.
Lapid has been soaring in the polls over the past few months, predicting that he would win 20 or more seats in the Knesset. Thus, he started establishing himself as an alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But then came Ya'alon’s dismissal from the Ministry of Defense and the game opened up again.
