Former Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan has formed a new political movement known as Tzomet (Advanced Zionism) which advocates a firmer and wider Israeli hold over the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
His supporters in the new movement are members of the so-called “Ein Vered” and “Ben Gurion” ideological groups made up of present and former extreme hawkish members of the Labor Party.
Eitan said there were no present plans to transform what he stressed was at the moment a “movement” into a political party which might contest Knesset elections. But he did not rule out such a development. The new movement appears to be closely akin to the Tehiya Party but the former Chief of Staff hinted he would not necessarily join up with that party.
Observers suggested Eitan had formed the movement to serve as a springboard for him to enter politics, preferring to do so on the basis of his own party, which he would lead, rather, than as a lower-ranking member of an existing party.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
