Gabay, Peretz launch final push in tight Labor primary race

After finishing first in the Israeli Labor party's primary, Amir Peretz said Wednesday morning that he intends to bring the divided party together in order to continue its campaign to replace Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Peretz, a former union leader and defense minister, said only a strong society can take important steps such as making peace. Meanwhile, second-place finisher Avi Gabay, who joined the party about six months ago, said the first thing he will do if he becomes opposition leader will be to visit areas where the party lacks support in order to convince voters to back Labor. The former environment minister said he will seek to build bridges within the party after the hard-fought primary campaign. He also vowed not to join the current government under any circumstances if he wins.
Peretz and Gabay will face each other in a runoff for the chairmanship next Tuesday. Incumbent party leader Yitzhak Herzog finished third in the primary and was thus eliminated from the race.