On Thursday, the Supreme Court of the Likud party rejected the petition of Gilad Sharon, son of late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who asked to be allowed to run in the party primaries in about 10 days, even though his waiting period is not over yet.
Sharon, who together with his father left the Likud for the Kadima party when most Likud members refused to deport Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, returned to the Likud in 2016, but is still three months short of concluding his waiting period.
Sharon junior announced his intention to run for the Negev district slot in the primaries.
The Likud, incidentally, on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recently tossed the waiting period for candidate Yoav Galant, who resigned from Moshe Kahlon’s party to join Likud.
Attorney Yitzhak Bam, a member of the Likud court, wrote that “the decision to shorten the waiting period is a political decision […] That is, considerations relating to the candidate’s past activity may be relevant.”
In Bam’s opinion, even if Netanyahu had said that because Gilad Sharon “caused tremendous damage to society and the State of Israel, he will not receive any favors nor cut his waiting period, I would not say that the decision is unreasonable.”
Bam was adamant on Gilad Sharon’s responsibility for the expulsion from Gush Katif: “The candidate’s public and political past and being an active partner in planning and designing one of the greatest disasters that have afflicted Israel in the 21st century are legitimate considerations the chairman is authorized to consider when deciding whether to accept his request to shorten the waiting period,” Bam said.
The decision was co-signed by Court President Michael Kleiner, and attorneys Rafi Boker and Bam.
Dr. Shlomo Kara’i, a Likud candidate from the Negev district, responded: “I congratulate the court that prevented the architect of the disengagement, who expelled Jews from their homes and caused the Likud to be crushed, from destroying the Likud a second time.”