JERUSALEM, Aug. 30 – Benjamin Netanyahu, a former prime minister, announced Tuesday that he intended to challenge the current prime minister, Ariel Sharon, as leader of the governing Likud party, a move that threatened the coalition government and increased the likelihood of early elections.

The two men are longtime rivals in the right-wing Likud party. Mr. Netanyahu quit as finance minister earlier this month to protest Mr. Sharon’s decision to withdraw Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.

Mr. Sharon “has abandoned the way of Likud, and chose another way, the way of the left,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a Tel Aviv news conference, accompanied by a number of Likud legislators.

“Sharon gave and gave and gave some more, and the Palestinians got more and more and more” he said. “And what did we get in return? The answer is: Nothing, nothing and nothing.”
Full: nytimes.com

The stage is set for the real nightmare to begin. Sharon will be recalled as a benign moderate compared to Netanyahu, the miracle baby of 7/7, who was warned ahead of time while hundreds were blown to pieces.

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