Edelstein Quits Likud, Netanyahu 'Very Troubled'

Edelstein's departure comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Netanyahu, who is simultaneously weighing dramatic changes to Likud's candidate selection process, including potentially canceling primaries altogether in favor of a selection committee. The move signals growing internal tensions over the party's direction and Netanyahu's expanding control over its mechanisms.

In his Channel 12 interview, Edelstein acknowledged the personal difficulty of the decision, particularly for longtime supporters within Likud who backed him through multiple primary campaigns. "This is a very hard sentence to say, because there's the Likud faction, that's you, we talked about it, but there are also those friends who right now, in surprise, are hearing what I'm saying and asking: 'What is Yuli doing? We supported him for decades, we would have supported him this time too, why is he doing this?'"

The former Knesset Speaker explained his reasoning by pointing to what he described as an inability to campaign for Likud's current platform. "In all the primaries I participated in, from the first time when I was new until my position as Knesset Speaker, I succeeded," Edelstein said. "If you succeed in primaries, you then have to stand on stages and say: 'Vote for Likud, we will do...' and then I don't know how to finish that sentence. What will we do? Continue to enable draft evasion? Continue to run away from voting on sovereignty? Continue to support all kinds of laws that I don't even know how to explain what they have to do with Likud?"

The exodus of establishment figures like Edelstein compounds Netanyahu's challenges as he faces growing credibility questions over his relationship with the Trump administration and his handling of security policy. Political analysts note that Edelstein's departure removes one of the few remaining voices within Likud capable of appealing to centrist voters who have grown increasingly alienated from the party's rightward drift.

Edelstein's track record in Likud primaries --- he consistently secured strong positions through internal elections --- makes his departure particularly significant. His decision suggests that even successful establishment figures within the party now see limited political future under Netanyahu's leadership, raising questions about Likud's ability to retain its traditional base of pragmatic right-wing voters.

The announcement comes as Netanyahu's circle explores expanding the number of reserved spots on the Likud list and potentially overhauling the entire candidate selection process. Senior party officials have discussed transferring control over list composition to a special committee, a move that could allow Netanyahu to replace as many as eight current MKs and consolidate his grip on the party apparatus.

Edelstein has not yet revealed details of his planned new political movement, including potential partners or policy platform. His departure marks the latest in a series of high-profile exits from Likud by figures perceived as representing the party's more moderate, establishment wing, a trend that political observers say threatens to transform Israel's historic right-wing movement into a vehicle primarily serving Netanyahu's personal political interests.