Israel Matzav: Likud closer to Feiglin than to Netanyahu

Likud closer to Feiglin than to Netanyahu

You may recall that Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is trying to remake the Likud as a centrist party, does not really care for Moshe Feiglin. Well, consider this.

But the group photo of Likud is deceptive. The views of most of its members - in the central committee, the Knesset, and even the cabinet - are a lot closer to those of Likud's Moshe Feiglin than of the prime minister on two decisions that reflect a divergence from the party platform: the limited acceptance of a Palestinian state and the settlement construction freeze. The Likud politicians are worried about the revenge of the Feiglinites in the next election. If Netanyahu has the party vote on his surrender to U.S. President Barack Obama, he will lose.

The prime minister's situation will worsen the minute he resumes talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose declared purpose is to push Israel back to the Green Line, including in East Jerusalem, subject to a Palestinian agreement to exchange territory in return for the settlement blocs. The time frame is two years, a compromise between the three years that Netanyahu demanded (obviously intent on linking the talks with an election period in the United States and Israel), and the one year that Abbas demanded.

Hmmm.

Israel Matzav: Likud closer to Feiglin than to Netanyahu