Israel's Opposition Zionist Union Falls Apart Before Election
- Faction leader Gabbay won’t run with Livni’s Hatnua list
- Livni urges country to focus on unseating Benjamin Netanyahu
Avi Gabbay speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington on March 4, 2018.
Photographer: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
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Israel’s opposition, which just last week stressed the need to merge forces to beat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in upcoming elections, has splintered instead.
Labor chairman Avi Gabbay announced Tuesday he was breaking up the Zionist Union -- his party’s alliance with former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua -- which was parliament’s second-largest faction. The bloc has been tanking in the polls, projected to receive less than 10 of parliament’s 120 seats, compared to its current 24.