Party Candidate Claims Likud Tried to Dissolve Her List Before Elections
Netali Sham Tov, a candidate for the 'Am Israel' party, stated in a recent interview that the Likud party attempted to prevent her list from running in the upcoming elections. She claimed that Likud representatives approached her and other party members until the very last moment, even as the list was being submitted, offering them spots on the Likud slate. Sham Tov asserted that these efforts stemmed from a fear within Likud that her party is drawing significant support from voters, including young people, soldiers, and residents of the Negev and Galilee regions.
Sham Tov positioned her party as the sole alternative for the right-wing bloc, capable of bringing victory and returning right-wing voters who might otherwise stay home or vote for other parties. She urged those concerned about the political landscape to focus on pressing issues such as supporting soldiers, addressing attacks on residents of Ramat Tzvi by criminal gangs, and aiding in the rehabilitation of communities affected by recent events, rather than on her party's existence.
Addressing reports that Likud tried to disband her party, Sham Tov stated, "We will recommend Netanyahu, and we will sit with Netanyahu and work with him, but we are not working for him, we are working for the people of Israel." She expressed confidence in her party's polling numbers, citing both public and internal surveys that show strong results, suggesting the issue should be put to rest. She believes her party's strength is increasing, especially when attacked, and that it enhances the right-wing's chances of forming a government.
Regarding sensitive issues like the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, Sham Tov acknowledged they are painful topics that politicians have mishandled. She proposed a secret Knesset vote to appoint two chairpersons and two retired judges to lead an inquiry commission, stating she also has difficult questions about her own survival and that of her children during the October 7th attacks.
