National Union Chairman MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzele) today commented on his Facebook page on the Likud primaries, encouraging voters from the National Religious camp to reserve their vote to the modern heir of the historic NRP, the combined list of National Union and Jewish Home.
Even if the Likud primaries were to elect people we feel they are “ours,” and even those were to be residents of Judea and Samaria, we have seen in the past as well as over the last four years of working together in the Knesset, that when tested, the Likud prime ministers have led the Knesset members, even the best among them, into regions that the forefathers and founders of the Likud could not have imagined.
Our very best friends in the Likud have failed to prevent the expulsion of Gush Katif, and could not prevent the shame of new construction freezes and the hundreds of demolitions of housing starts by Likud governments, and particularly the stinging declaration of the Likud leader about his vision and ambition to reach the “solution” of “2 states for 2 peoples.”
The only solution to this situation is running jointly as two sister parties, our own National Union and the Jewish Home led by Naftali Bennett, in one big and qualitative list that could bring in as many as 14 seats and will serve as a foundation beam for the next government, as the most senior coalition partner and the moral and national anchor of the next government.
Ketzele’s spokesman, Ariel Cohen, told The Jewish Press he was very optimistic about the chances of the new, combined list to increase significantly the number of Knesset seats occupied by National Religious MKs.
In light of the Netanyahu’s government’s failure to come out of the Gaza operation with reassuring results, it could mean that large numbers of National Religious voters who normally vote Likud would decide to send a message to Bibi by voting for the old-new NRP.
Cohen noted that Ron Dermer, the American born senior advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu, has said before the elections in the U.S. that if President Obama were elected, there would be another freeze on settlement housing starts.