Report: Likud rival seeks to oust Danny Danon from party

Former Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon was elected to the post of World Likud chairman on Sunday night, but rival Miki Zohar is reportedly trying to expel Danon from the party.

By World Israel News Staff

On Sunday night, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon was reelected to a post in the Likud party that he held for a decade prior to stepping into his role at the UN in 2015.

Danon’s election to the position of World Likud Chairman, however, is being contested by party rival Miki Zohar, a Knesset member who is also a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Zohar says that the online vote held by the World Likud Council on Sunday night violated an order issued by an internal party court.

Zohar intended to run for the chairman position, but received an injunction from the court blocking the vote, which was apparently ignored, The Jerusalem Post reported.

That report detailed Zohar’s “deal with outgoing World Likud Chairman Yaakov Hagoel,” under which “Zohar was supposed to be the only candidate” to replace Danon-ally Hagoel as chairman.

Meanwhile, Danon announced his candidacy before the deadline on Friday and the vote proceeded on Sunday, with Danon prevailing and Zohar sitting out of the election in reliance on the injunction’s validity.

Zohar filed a petition with the Likud court on Monday seeking to cancel the vote, while other Likud members filed a petition to remove Danon, Arutz Sheva reported, adding that “sources close to the movement’s High Court estimate that the tribunal will accept the petitions.”

The Arutz Sheva report quoted the same sources as claiming that “the prime minister is interested in ousting Danon after he defied him.”

The report also quoted “Likud officials” as commenting that “Danon has ended his political career.”

Benjamin NetanyahuDanny DanonLikudMiki Zohar