Netanyahu swamps rival in Likud primaries

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won the Likud Party primaries going away as challenger Moshe Feiglin conceded Wednesday morning.

Netanyahu said his easy win was a testament to his political positions, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"Today the real Likud won. We proved that our strength is in our unity. We will continue to lead responsibly for better education, [the] economy and security for all the citizens of the state of Israel," he told supporters in Tel Aviv. "Likud turns Israel into one of the most developed nations in the world, in education, culture and environmental protection."

While conceding, Feiglin said the results solidified the relevance of Likud's right wing.

"One of every four Likudniks came and said yesterday that he supports the Jewish, national and proud way," Feiglin said. "Whoever is able to destroy houses in Judea and Samaria each night is not expressing Likud's stance, which supports settlement in the entirety of the land."

Officials said Netanyahu claimed 75 percent of the vote to Feiglin's 24 percent, with about 85 percent of ballots tallied, Haaretz said.

In a statement, opposition party Kadima said little difference could be found between Netanyahu and Feiglin.

"The Bibi-Feiglin party will continue to cause the deterioration and isolation of Israel," the centrist-liberal political party said. "The Likud decided tonight to continue the shared and extreme policies of Feiglin and Netanyahu, which have held Israel's citizens hostage against their will for three years already."