Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Want to Sack Netanyahu

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Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Want to Sack Netanyahu

Israeli right-wing parties are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and calling for another right-wing leader as his successor, according to political sources familiar with the matter in Tel Aviv.

The recent demand is welcomed by several parties such as Netanyahu’s Likud, as well as the New Right and the National Union, both members of the Yamina Alliance led by Naftali Bennett.

They used scare tactics to warn right-wing parties that their ideologies face the risk of losing power due to Netanyahu's failures to address the scourge of the coronavirus and the dangerous economic consequences.

They say that the public has lost confidence in the PM and his ministers, who are chaotically leading the country with contradictory decisions.

The parties said that a number of ministers issued precautionary measures that they did not follow, but asked citizens to abide by them.

Polls confirm that despite the achievements in foreign policy and the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain, Netanyahu's domestic popularity continues to decline, according to right-wing officials.

They believe he should resign and give way to another right-wing figure who is welcomed by all, in order to save the right-wing regime.

However, another part wants the premier removed because they believe he, like some of his predecessors, has betrayed the principles.

They refer to Menachem Begin, who evacuated settlements by force and recognized the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, Ariel Sharon who split the Likud party and led the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to the 1967 borders, and Ehud Olmert who offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a plan to withdraw from 98 percent of the West Bank.

Journalist Kalman Libeskind suggested finding a “respectable exit” for Netanyahu by concluding a plea deal with the prosecution, according to which he retired from politics, in exchange for dismissing the indictments against him.

A similar position was reflected by a senior Likud official who spoke to journalist Ben Caspet, on condition of anonymity.

The official believes that it’s about time Netanyahu ends his term. He indicated that the PM is even following the path of the left-wing leaders who ignored all principles and ideology and have always sought compromises for solutions.

He described Netanyahu as a “pragmatic leader” who does not take military risks.

The official recalled how Netanyahu accepted the Oslo Accords and completed their implementation, and now stopped the annexation plan and pledged not to object the deal to sell advanced aircraft to the UAE.

He warned that if Netanyahu remains in power, “he will reach an agreement with the Palestinians, the price of which will be high, more than what we have paid so far. Therefore, it is time for him to give up.”

Netanyahu's comrades in Likud fear that the upcoming elections will not be in their favor.

The public discontent with the government’s failure to combat the pandemic and the exhausting economic conditions are noticeable and high. In addition, unemployment rate has amounted to half a million workers, and in the most recent polls, 49 percent of Israelis complained that they were directly affected by the government's recent economic decisions.

However, Naftali Bennett is benefitting the most from the current situation. A once high-ranking official at Netanyahu's office, Bennett left to form a party with Ayelet Shaked and they now lead the coalition of extreme right-wing parties, Yamina.

They won six seats in the Knesset, and polls show that they could quadruple it to more than 22 seats in the coming elections.

Bennett sees himself as a strong candidate for the premiership, even in an alliance with Netanyahu.

Bennett seeks to expand the ranks of his party to include liberal forces and gain the votes of the center. He proposes forming an alliance between Likud and Yamina, before the elections, provided that he leads the government until Netanyahu finishes his trial.

In the meantime, Bennett continues to attack Netanyahu for his failures, and Likud threatens to keep him out of any future right-wing coalition.



South Korea’s New President Lee Vows to Revive Democracy from ‘Near Demise’

South Korean new President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hea Kyung leave after attending the presidential inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)
South Korean new President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hea Kyung leave after attending the presidential inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)
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South Korea’s New President Lee Vows to Revive Democracy from ‘Near Demise’

South Korean new President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hea Kyung leave after attending the presidential inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)
South Korean new President Lee Jae-myung and his wife Kim Hea Kyung leave after attending the presidential inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)

South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung pledged on Wednesday to raise the country from the near destruction caused by a martial law attempt and revive an economy besieged by global protectionism that is threatening its very existence.

Lee's decisive victory in Tuesday's snap election stands to usher in a sea change in Asia's fourth-largest economy, after backlash against a botched attempt at military rule brought down Yoon Suk Yeol just three years into his troubled presidency.

He faces what could be the most daunting set of challenges for a South Korean leader in nearly three decades, ranging from healing a country deeply scarred by the martial law attempt to tackling unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a major trading partner and a security ally.

"A Lee Jae-myung government will be a pragmatic pro-market government," he said after taking the oath of office at parliament, a location where six months ago he jumped over the perimeter wall to enter the chamber and avoid martial law troops barricading it to vote down the decree.

He promised deregulation to spur innovation and growth in business and pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea while maintaining a strong security alliance with the United States and bringing balance to diplomacy.

"It is better to win without fighting than to win in a fight, and peace with no need to fight is the best security," he said on the country's often violent ties with rival North Korea.

Lee was officially confirmed earlier as president by the National Election Commission and immediately assumed the powers of the presidency and commander in chief, speaking with the top military leader to receive a report on defense posture.

With all the ballots counted, Lee won 49.42% of the nearly 35 million votes cast while conservative rival Kim Moon-soo took 41.15% in the polls that brought the highest turnout for a presidential election since 1997, official data showed.

Lee has said he would address urgent economic challenges facing the country on the first day in office with a focus on the cost-of-living concerns affecting middle and low-income families and the struggles of small business owners.

He also faces a deadline set by the White House on negotiating import duties that Washington has blamed for a large trade imbalance between the countries.

South Korean stocks rallied on Wednesday morning, with the benchmark KOSPI rising more than 2% to its highest in 10 months, with the financial sector leading the gain on expectations of market reform by Lee. Renewable energy stocks also rose. Lee has pledged a shift to a greener energy mix.

'DEAL WITH TRUMP'

The government under a caretaker acting president had made little progress in trying to assuage crushing tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump that would hit some of the country's major industries, including autos and steel.

"President Lee will find himself with little to no time to spare before tackling the most important task of his early presidency: reaching a deal with Trump," the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Lee on his election win and said the countries "share an ironclad commitment" to their alliance grounded on shared values, and deep economic ties.

He also said that the countries were "modernizing the Alliance to meet the demands of today’s strategic environment and address new economic challenges."

The White House said the election of Lee was "free and fair" but the United States remained concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world, according to a White House official.

Lee has expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, in particular singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan strait.

Still, Lee has pledged to continue Yoon's engagement with Japan and said the alliance with the United States is the backbone of South Korea's global diplomacy.