Labor leader quits

last updated 8 January 2015

Jerusalem

Amram Mitzna, the dovish ex-general who led the Labor Party to its worst election defeat in Israeli history, quit as opposition leader this week. Mitzna took the party helm last November and called for Israel to make unilateral concessions to the Palestinians. The stance proved unpopular. In elections just two months later, Labor lost a large chunk of its support, while the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon doubled its strength in the Knesset. In his resignation speech, Mitzna said the constant back-stabbing by his rivals in Labor had worn him down. “There are people in the party who did their utmost to sabotage me,” Mitzna said. “In the current circumstances, it is impossible to lead the Labor Party.”