Israel's Likud primary draws party further right

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud faction shifted further to the right on Monday, with the more moderate members of the ruling party faring poorly in a primary vote ahead of January elections. The two-day poll, extended from Sunday after technical failures in the computerised system caused significant delays, ended on Monday night with nearly 60 percent of the Likud's 123,000 members casting their vote. Unofficial results published on Israeli media showed that the ballot proved the strength of the settler lobby, led by Moshe Feiglin, who has said that Likud needed to reassure the right. Feiglin himself won the 14th place on the list, which would still be adjusted to reflect spots reserved for regional representatives and the merger with Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman's ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu faction, but almost certainly ensured him a spot in the next Knesset. But liberal Likud members, most notably ministers Dan Meridor, Benny Begin and Michael Eitan -- the first two who are part of Netanyahu's Forum of Nine advisory group -- were pushed down lower on the list and most likely would not be elected into the parliament. While the rightward shift could draw votes of hawkish Israelis dissatisfied over Wednesday's truce deal that ended eight days of conflict between Israel and Gaza militants, it could also frighten away more centrist voters in the January 22 polls. Netanyahu's position as party leader was already confirmed by Likud's governing central committee in February. Knesset member Danny Danon, who led a number of campaigns against Arab lawmakers and attempted to promote controversial right-wing laws, told AFP that the results "prove that likud members vote according to their loyalty to the Land of Israel and the values of the movement." The results would be officially published later in the night, and Netanyahu was expected to deliver a speech.