Netanyahu to challenge Sharon leadership

Former finance minister to run for Likud party boss

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 Posted: 1334 GMT (2134 HKT)

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli finance minister who left the government in protest of the disengagement plan, says he will challenge Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the Likud party leadership.

Netanyahu -- who made his announcement Tuesday during a nationally televised Tel Aviv news conference -- lashed out at Sharon, saying he has spurned the principles of Likud.

"The Likud today needs a leader who can unify the ranks, rehabilitate the ruins, and lead the Likud to victory, and who will then lead the state in the spirit of our principles," he said.

Netanyahu, 55, said he believes he is up to the task.

"Therefore, I today announce my candidacy for the leadership of the Likud, and for the premiership."

The longtime Israel politician resigned from the government before the start of the Gaza withdrawal, saying he feared that Gaza would become a launching pad for terrorism.

While most Israelis backed Sharon's disengagement plan, many members of Likud did not and it has posed a threat that Likud could split.

Sharon, 77, earlier this month criticized Netanyahu, saying he is "someone who runs from responsibility."

The challenge has not been unexpected.

"Netanyahu is pressured easily, gets into a panic, and loses his senses," said Sharon, who added "to run a country like Israel a leader needs to have reason and judgment and nerves of steel, two traits he does not have."

The next election in Israel has been set for November 2006.

However, an earlier vote could be held if the government dissolves. The date for the primaries will be set during the Likud Central Committee meeting on September 26.

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