Netanyahu faces leadership challenge

JERUSALEM－Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is running for the leadership of his Likud party, facing veteran politician Gideon Saar in a vote on Thursday.

Despite the shadow of corruption indictments hanging over him, Netanyahu remains popular among Likud members and the fiercely loyal party－which has only had four leaders since its inception in the 1970s－has stood firmly behind the long-serving leader.

But whatever the result, "Netanyahu can only lose," said Stephan Miller, a pollster who has worked on multiple Israeli campaigns.

No matter how much support Saar receives, "it will be the first time in 10 years that a group of voters on the right explicitly express their desire to get rid of Netanyahu," he said.

"If that is more than a third of the party, Netanyahu will be significantly damaged," Miller said.

The winner will lead Likud into Israel's third election within 12 months.

Net any ahu has been premier for a decade but is also facing an indictment on a series of corruption charges.

Saar and Netanyahu have spent recent days crisscrossing the country, making their case to around 116,000 Likud members eligible to vote, though Netanyahu has not responded to Saar's call for one-on-one debates.

More than 100 voting stations were to open across the country, with results not expected until early Friday morning.

Polls in April and September saw Netanyahu deadlocked with challenger Benny Gantz of a centrist party. Neither was able to command a majority in Israel's Parliament under Israel's proportional representation system.

Last month, Netanyahu was indicted for fraud, bribery and breach of trust in three corruption cases, allegations he strongly denies.

The primaries were called shortly after, the first internal challenge to Netanyahu since 2014.

Saar, 53, has been a senior figure in the Likud for a decade and headed multiple ministries, but stepped away from politics for several years in 2014 after being politically sidelined by Netanyahu.