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A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 17 december 2019

Netanyahu’s Likud challenger surging ahead of primary launch

ARON HELLER or favorable media cover-
Associated Press age.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli He denies wrongdoing
Prime Minister Benjamin and has waged an angry
Netanyahu’s challenger campaign against the me-
for the post of ruling Li- dia and law enforcement
kud party leader is pick- officials he said are bent
ing up more endorse- on ousting him from office.
ments ahead of the official Outwardly, Likud members
launch of his primary cam- have strongly supported
paign on Monday. their leader and joined in
Gideon Saar’s associates denouncing the alleged
expect about 1,000 par- “coup” of the liberal elites
ty activists to attend the against him.
launch and have been But Saar’s burgeoning in-
buoyed by support of a surrection has begun to re-
half-dozen Likud lawmak- veal some cracks.
ers, including the powerful Recent polls show that with
chairman of the party’s ex- Saar as leader, Likud would
ecutive body. make a more powerful
Saar’s leadership bid marks bloc with its natural ultra-
the first serious internal Orthodox and nationalist
challenge to Netanyahu in allies.
his decade-plus in power. Saar would also be in an
Though still a decided un- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacts during the weekly cabinet meeting, at his office easier position to create a
derdog to the embattled in Jerusalem, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019. national unity government
prime minister, Saar seems Associated Press with the centrist Blue and
to be gaining traction White party if, as expect-
ahead of the Dec. 26 vote still deliver after two indeci- fice. ruption cases in which he is ed, the upcoming March
among the party faithful sive election results and a Netanyahu faces charg- accused of trading legisla- election produces a dead-
as there is growing skepti- corruption indictment that es of bribery, fraud and tive or regulatory favors in lock like the previous two
cism that Netanyahu can may force him out of of- breach of trust in three cor- exchange for lavish gifts rounds have. q

Turkey deploys surveillance drone in northern Cyprus

Associated Press at the airport in Gecitkala It’s unclear what the
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — — known as Lefkoniko in drones will be specifically
Turkey has dispatched Greek, on Cyprus. tasked to do.
a surveillance and re- Kudret Ozersay, foreign Cyprus Defense Minister
connaissance drone to minister of the self-de- Savvas Angelides called
the breakaway north of clared Turkish Cypriot state, the move an “additional
ethnically divided island told reporters Sunday that factor contributing to in-
nation of Cyprus amid the Turkish deployment stability” in the region,
tensions over offshore would be limited to un- hurting efforts aimed at
oil and gas exploration, armed drones as there was reunifying the country.
Turkey’s state-run media “no need” for armed ones. Turkish Foreign Minister
said Monday. Earlier, Turkish Cypriot Mevlut Cavusoglu said
The Anadolu news agen- Prime Minister Ersin Tatar last week that Ankara
cy said the Turkish-made said there was an “urgent could use its military forc-
Bayraktar TB2 drone A Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone is seen shortly after its need” to address the secu- es to halt gas drilling in
took off from an airbase landing at an airport in Gecitkala, known as Lefkoniko in Greek, rity concerns of Turkey and waters off Cyprus that it
in Dalaman, Turkey, and in Cyprus, Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. the Turkish Cypriots in the claims as its own.q
touched down Monday Associated Press eastern Mediterranean.