The Likud Constitution Committee is set to vote on Monday on changes to the party’s primary system that could grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authority to determine the highest-ranked slots on the party list ahead of the upcoming elections.
Netanyahu is expected to join the meeting at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and vote. The proposal to change the primaries system has drawn internal opposition from senior Likud figures, including Construction and Housing Minister Haim Katz and MK David Bitan, who have objected to the changes.
Netanyahu reportedly has held several meetings with Katz ahead of the vote, seeking to bridge disagreements over the primary system.
Netanyahu working to ensure internal support for changing the system
A number of Likud lawmakers also reportedly said they had received phone calls from associates of Netanyahu, who asked them to withdraw from the party primaries and receive positions instead, according to a Monday KAN News report.
The vote on the primaries has been postponed multiple times, leading to reports that Netanyahu was working to ensure internal support for changing the system.
There have also been reports that Netanyahu has threatened to leave Likud if the proposed changes are not advanced.
Some of the reserved slots could reportedly go to figures such as Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and former finance minister Moshe Kahlon.
Objections from MKs within the party
There have been objections from MKs within the party, who oppose changing the process, as it could cause those who would otherwise score highly in the primaries to fall further down the list.
A fierce critic of changing the system has been MK Tally Gotliv, who is viewed as a candidate who would receive broad support from registered party members.
Gotliv released a video on Sunday claiming that Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Defense Minister Israel Katz were working behind the scenes to cancel the primaries to receive a high slot from Netanyahu.
"Two cowardly ministers are behind the disgraceful idea of canceling Likud's primaries, Yariv Levin and Israel Katz. They'll deny it, but they're working on a mechanism for a selection committee that will preserve their own power,” she said.
Parties are not mandated to hold primaries in Israel, and only a few conduct them. The Likud has prided itself for years on conducting primaries in which its over 100,000 registered members are eligible to vote for the Knesset list.
The primaries are expected to be highly competitive. Likud currently has around 40 ministers and MKs serving in the government and Knesset, but recent polls project the party winning only about 25 seats, leaving many at risk of losing their places on the party's Knesset list.
The Likud primaries to determine its list have been set to take place on August 8.
Likud MK Amit Halevi told The Jerusalem Post last month that Netanyahu may be working behind closed doors to influence Likud lawmakers ahead of the election, as part of an effort to secure control over at least the first six reserved spots on the party’s Knesset list.
Halevi is a member of the Likud Constitution Committee and is expected to join the vote.
Regarding who the reserved slots would ultimately be used for, Halevi told the Post he believed some would be allocated to people who “embody the spirit of the party.”
“People from the military or people who paid personal prices in the war, who can strongly express the demand for victory,” he said.
Halevi is also among the MKs from the party who expressed support for changing the system so that Netanyahu could secure the slots.
He said that it was most important to do what would be best for the party to succeed in the elections.
The debate on how to hold the Likud primaries comes ahead of the general elections, which are set to take place on October 27.