Netanyahu wins Likud leadership

The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has won the primary election for the leadership of his right-wing Likud party. With 85 per cent of voters reported, Netanyahu was leading with 75 per cent of votes. Rival Moshe Feiglin only obtained a 24 per cent. Netanyahu was expected to win the Likud leadership for the fifth time and defeat activist Feiglin in Tuesday’s party primary. "I thank you all for the trust and renewed support you have given me," Netanyahu said in a speech in Tel Aviv. Despite the expectations of many, Netanyahu did not announce a general election, and declared that there is "still time" for the elections to take place. "We are standing before great challenges," he concluded. "I am sure that we will tread forward on our way, which is the way of the Likud." Meanwhile, the opposition leader Tzipi Livni (Kadima) downplayed the Likud election, saying that it did not matter whether the Likud leader would be Feiglin or Netanyahu. “The world does not need to hold its breath for a race that will not change the real situation,” Livni told MKs who support her in a meeting in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night. “The Likud has changed from a national liberal party to a party that forms extremist coalitions. The extremists have taken over the Likud and its leadership,” she concluded.