Moshe Saada, a former deputy head of the Police Investigations Department and currently placed 25th on the Likud slate for next month's elections, has added his voice to the chorus of those calling on Jewish Home and former Yamina party head Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked to pull out of the race.
In an interview on Radio 103FM, Saada noted that all recent polls show Jewish Home failing to clear the electoral threshold by a long way, and added that Shaked was "only increasing the likelihood of Lapid and the Muslim Brotherhood" forming the next government. He said, however, that, "She's a smart lady and she knows that she's not going to pass the electoral threshold, because at the end of the day, people vote with their feet, and that's going to prompt her to pull out of the race due to her principled stance, since otherwise she would only be wasting right-wing bloc votes."
Asked to comment on the likelihood of Otzma Yehudit head MK Itamar Ben-Gvir being appointed Justice Minister in the event that the Likud party forms the next government, Saada said, "I don't think Itamar is the right man for that job. Each role has to be given to the person with the expertise in that area," he added, even though Ben-Gvir was a successful attorney before joining the Knesset.
In the past, Saada was notable for comments he made (in private) suggesting that Shaked was prime ministerial material, and prior to joining the Likud he held negotiations with her regarding the possibility of his joining Jewish Home, which she now heads.
Despite Saada's confidence in the action he wishes Shaked to take, the Jewish Home head remains defiantly committed to running in November's elections. In a recent interview with Galei Tzahal, Shaked insisted that, "The only chance Netanyahu has of establishing a government is if we [Jewish Home] cross the electoral threshold," adding that, "I feel bad for him that he is letting his personal prejudices influence his judgment."
Asked to comment on the latest wave of Arab terrorism, she said, "Two weeks ago, I requested that the security cabinet meet, noting that there has been an uptick in the motivation behind terrorist acts. I don't say that I'm in favor of agressive action such as [an actual operation], but we do need to turn the heat up. For a while now we've been trying to rely on the Palestinian security forces to keep the peace but it has become clear that this is no longer working.
"Lapid is running the government well and consulting with security officials," she added. "I will be speaking with him about the areas where we disagree when the security cabinet meets."
