Next Likud Knesset race could see Katsav vs Sharon
Gilad Sharon, Ariel Sharon's son, and Lior Katsav, Moshe Katsav's brother, are both rumored to be joining Likud ranks.
By GIL HOFFMANUpdated: DECEMBER 28, 2016 01:51Celebrations at the Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 17, 2015(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Former prime minister Ariel Sharon founded Likud, and Moshe Katsav was the first president elected from the party.In the next Likud Knesset primary, relatives of the two men could face off against each other.Sharon’s son Gilad told The Jerusalem Post in August that he had joined Likud and was considering seeking a Knesset seat with the party.If he runs, Sharon would seek a slot reserved for a candidate from the Negev that was won by his brother, Omri Sharon, in 2003.The website Likudnik is holding a mock election at a festival called the Likudiada it is planning in Eilat next month.Among the candidates the site is listing for the Negev slot is Lior Katsav, brother of the former president.Moshe Katsav was released from Ma’asiyahu Prison in Ramle last Wednesday after serving five years and 15 days of his seven-year sentence for rape and other sexual offenses.Lior, who strongly defended his brother, was questioned in March 2007 regarding allegations of committing in an indecent act involving a foreign worker. He was also the focus of a police investigation for sexual harassment in 2000.In that case, a former employee alleged that Katsav sexually harassed her while he was serving as mayor of Kiryat Malachi.That case was closed by former state attorney Edna Arbel, who cited lack of evidence.Like his brother, Lior has served as mayor of Kiryat Malachi.He declined to say what he thought about the prospects of facing off against Gilad Sharon, but he pronounced himself a proud Likudnik in a message he sent to the Post.“I have been loyal to the nationalist camp my entire life, even when they tried to entice me with a Knesset seat with a different party,” he said.“I have recently been receiving overtures to seek a slot on the Likud’s list. I will make my final decision on the matter when I check if the situation is relevant.”
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