Likud founder’s son calls on Israelis to vote Netanyahu out of office

By Said Amori and Tarek Chouiref

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) – Benny Begin, the son of Likud founder and former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, urged the party’s supporters Sunday to vote for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s removal, warning that he had become “a threat to us all.”

In a video posted by his son Avinadav Begin on the US social media platform X, he appealed directly to Likud voters to back parties seeking to replace the government in the Oct. 27 election.

“Likud members, put an end to this government. Send them into opposition,” he said.

“Vote on Tuesday for parties that will bring about a change of government now, for our children’s future and our grandchildren’s happiness.”

Begin, who served in Netanyahu-led governments before breaking with the party, described the prime minister as “tense, panicked and terrified” in recent days.

He criticized what he characterized as Netanyahu’s warning of economic devastation for Israel and his sharing of an AI-generated image on social media depicting a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv, offering no further details.

“A prime minister like this is a threat to us all,” he said.

Recalling his criticism of Netanyahu from the Knesset podium five years ago, Begin said he had asked how much further the prime minister could sink.

He said Israelis had since watched Netanyahu’s decline unfold in disbelief.

Begin spent much of his political career in Likud, serving as a lawmaker and minister before distancing himself from the party and becoming a critic of Netanyahu.

His father helped found Likud and served as prime minister from 1977 to 1983.

Tarek Chouiref,Said Amori