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"There is an attempt by marginal, ideological groups in the Likud to take over the ruling party and by that, take over the state," Education Minister Limor Livnat said.
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| January 5, 2004 |
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On the eve of the Likud convention, Education Minister Limor Livnat said last night that right-wing extremists and criminal elements were trying to take over the Likud Party. Convention members will present a long list of proposals that would limit the ability of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other cabinet ministers to act without convention approval. Sharon is expected to present his disengagement plan to the party.
"There is an attempt by marginal, ideological groups in the Likud to take over the ruling party and by that, take over the state," Limor said in media interviews. Livnat said she was referring to "extremist factors, like [Jewish Leadership Movement leader Moshe] Feiglin and his friends, who never were part of the Likud movement, and are not real Likudniks."
Livnat explained this statement by saying, "They are proposing proposals, like the proposal not to allow a minister or Knesset member who voted against the Likud convention stand, to run again on the party list. This is a totally undemocratic proposal."
"These people are not real Likudniks and their ideology cannot be allowed to prevail," Livnat told the Jerusalem Post. "We need to say out loud that the party must return to its senses. We must prevent them from taking over or the party and the state will be in danger."
Livnat added, "This is not democracy, this is anarchy."
The Likud convention is being held today in Tel Aviv and is the party's first meeting of activists elected by its branches and institutions throughout the country. No voting will be taking place, but proposals will be prepared for the next party convention in February. Besides Sharon, no other Likud MKs or ministers will be given an opportunity to speak, reportedly in order to deny party activists a serious platform.
The convention is being seen by political analysts as a test of Sharon's relations with his party. Activists want to ensure that Sharon will only present diplomatic initiatives that meet the convention members' approval.
"Sharon should be very worried by the increasing gaps between him and his party, and there is a confidence crisis as a result of neglecting the party's internal political activity and the [Likud's] failure in the municipal elections," a senior Likud minister said, quoted in Haaretz.
Maariv reported that Sharon's aides reached an agreement in advance with members of Feiglin's faction to avoid whistling and interrupting the prime minister's speech. At the last Likud convention, these activists constantly booed and disturbed Sharon's speech, damaging the faction's standing in the party, Yediot Aharonot reported.
The president of the convention is Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, who last week created a diplomatic storm by stating that the government had approved a massive settlement initiative on the Golan Heights. Sharon may relate to Katz's plan in his speech, Haaretz reported, but sources close to the prime minister said the plan had no political significance and Katz was only promoting it for personal political gain.
Sharon is unlikely, however, to commit to bringing any plan to evacuate settlements to the party's institutions before it is carried out, Haaretz reported. Sharon is also not expected to heed Katz's call to bring the plan for disengaging from the Palestinians, which Sharon presented in his Herzliya Conference address, to the convention for a vote. But Sharon's aides said he would promise to consult the Likud convention regarding the government's diplomatic plans.
A 100-page booklet of proposals is being presented to the Likud convention, including a number of controversial ones. Raanana Deputy Mayor Uzi Cohen is proposing the voluntary "transfer" of Palestinians to a new state that would be carved between Jordan and Syria, Maariv reported yesterday. Other proposals give the central committee the right to choose the Likud's leader, and call for an increase in the number of Knesset members to 160.
In addition, Feiglin proposed barring Likud MKs other than the prime minister and foreign minister from entering the United States until Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard is released from American prison, the Jerusalem Post reported.
A proposal by former MK Eli Cohen calls for a rotation agreement between Sharon and Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu asked that the proposal be removed from the agenda, but it was printed in the booklet.
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