After more than 10 consecutive years in power, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets for the first time a real challenger to his leadership of the Likud party.  

Gideon Sa'ar, the former education minister and interior minister, wants to throw King Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname) from his pedestal on Thursday's party leadership race. 

Sa'ar believes he is the gamer changer for the current Israeli political impasse. With no government being formed, the country is heading to the third general election within a year. 

"I believe there needs to be a change, that there needs to be a turning point in order to save the country from this deadlock and so that we can form a government and also so that we can unite the people of Israel. That is perhaps the most important thing today," he said during an interview with The Times of Israel. 

Thursday's Likud leadership race could be stormy, assuming Sa'ar can get two-thirds of the Likud Central Committee members' vote to hold a primary election in such a short period. 

It was Netanyahu who brought Sa'ar into politics. The former lawyer and journalist was picked as cabinet secretary during Netanyahu's first term in office in 1999.

He then served as a member of the Knesset for Likud party between 2003 and 2014 and was successively appointed as education minister (2009-2013) and interior minister (2013-2014).

He has been regarded as the heir to the Likud throne for a long time as his name was listed at the second phase behind leader Netanyahu in Likud's list for both the 2019 and 2013 election.

However, the rising star suddenly announced a break from politics in 2014. He left the Knesset but remained as a member of Likud.

"The people are struggling. The cost of living, the cost of housing. We must not hurt education; we must not hurt welfare; we must not hurt health; we must not hurt the weaker parts of society," Sa'ar said in his resignation speech hinting his dissatisfaction with Israeli's situation and implying criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Since then, the once-warm relationship between the two Likud leaders soured.

Sa'ar made his return in 2017 and finally announced his intention to replace Netanyahu, last month, by calling the Likud Central Committee to schedule a party leadership race.

He admitted that he had thought about the possibility of becoming prime minister for "many years," during a recent interview, and also said that during his break time, he made up his mind to fully pursue this goal.

Sa'ar took a hawkish stance on the Palestine issue, strongly opposing the two-state solution. He advocates for a Palestinian entity together with Jordan.

Loyalty is fiercely guarded in the Likud. The party only had four leaders throughout its nearly 50 years' history, and none of them has been deposed.

Hence, some in the Likud party have criticized Sa'ar over his public challenge of Bibi's leadership, with some even accusing him of "betrayal."

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sa'ar is "crossing a red line," and Culture Minister Miri Regev hoped Sa'ar wouldn't "stab Netanyahu in the back." 

The party's official spokesman also spoke against Sa'ar, saying "Likud is a family and family you don't betray." 

Netanyahu also got a major boost on Tuesday as Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who stood together with Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, told the public that the prime minister is still the right man to continue leading the party and the country.  

Nevertheless, there are still some members in the party that stand by Sa'ar's side, including a big name: Haim Katz. Katz, who chairs the party's central committee, is considered a heavyweight within Likud. 

Dan Meridor, who held several ministerial posts in Netanyahu's government, also called on Netanyahu to resign. 

Lawmakers like Etty Atia, Yoav Kisch, and Michal Shir have publicly announced their support for Sa'ar, while most lawmakers have been silent. 

Sa'ar insisted Netanyahu should step down because of the political morass rather than corruption allegation issues.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take responsibility – not because of the indictment but because of the situation the country is stuck in, without the ability to establish a government," he said.

On Monday, he just made an offer saying he would push Netanyahu to become president if he was elected. The term of the current president, Reuven Rivlin, ends in July 2021.

He added that Netanyahu is an "undoubtedly one of the world's greatest statesmen," and as a president, he can "continue contributing his international (diplomacy) skills to Israel's status in the world."

Netanyahu later rejected Sa'ar's offer, saying he would be happy to become president if Israel's president can enjoy the same power of the U.S. president.

"If Gideon Sa'ar is in favor of a presidential regime, I am too," Netanyahu said.

Sa'ar's campaign line is clear in his latest interview: "I haven't heard one person who thinks that after a third election, or a fourth, or a fifth, or a sixth, Prime Minister Netanyahu will succeed in forming a government. There are two possibilities: This crazy situation in which the country has been stuck for a year; or, God forbid, power passing to our political rivals – and we're not far from that." 

He has a once-in-a-lifetime chance: the prime minister is under indictment, and the country experienced two elections in which the last time, neither two of the separate candidates could form a government. 

The timing to replace Netanyahu may not be right now, but now Sa'ar has the opportunity to solidify his position as the main alternative on the day after. 

Polls suggested that a full-scale Likud rebellion against Netanyahu is unlikely. However, many in the party have indicated March 2 election would be Netanyahu's last chance as head of the Likud. 

Analysts noted that if Netanyahu again failed to form a government after March's election, Sa'ar by then would be the strongest candidate to replace Netanyahu in the Likud.