Two weeks after the Likud began a negative campaign warning that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would bring Israel back to its pre-1967 lines, the party shifted gears on Monday and unveiled a new positive campaign. The campaign will feature a picture of a determined-looking Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu and the slogan: "Strong against Hamas: Only the Likud/Netanyahu." The campaign will be featured on busses and billboards nationwide.

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Surveys commissioned by the Likud found that voters are worried about the rise of Hamas and they think Netanyahu is the best prime ministerial candidate to stand up to the new Palestinian Authority ruling party. The polls also found that the public opposes unilateral disengagement in Judea and Samaria. The previous campaign featured a picture of a disgruntled-looking Olmert with leftist quotes he had given to the press. Likud officials complained that people could not tell that the campaign was for the Likud and not for Olmert's Kadima Party. The change in the Likud's strategy came after several top Likud officials said the party looked like it had nothing to say about itself. They said the Likud needed to remind the public of Netanyahu's strengths and not just Olmert's weaknesses. But when informed of the new slogan, one of the same Likud officials was equally critical, saying: "The party won't get anywhere by fear-mongering." The Likud sponsored ads in Hebrew-language Web sites over the weekend with slogans like "Hamas is here, Iran is here" and an ad featuring Hamas leader Ismail Haniya with blood on his hand next to Olmert. Likud strategists said the ads were intended to emphasize that the government's policies brought Hamas to victory and warn that Kadima's policies would encourage more terrorism. Ma'ariv published a Teleseker poll on Monday indicating that since Hamas's victory the Likud gained three mandates to 16 and Kadima also rose to 42.

Likud accentuates the positive

New campaign will be: "Strong against Hamas - Only the Likud/Netanyahu."