{"id":532549,"date":"2026-07-09T06:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/532549\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:59:10","slug":"netanyahus-ultimatum-to-likud-give-me-10-reserved-slots-on-knesset-slate-or-risk-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/532549\/","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu\u2019s ultimatum to Likud: give me 10 reserved slots on Knesset slate or risk no"},"content":{"rendered":"

The demand, described by Likud officials as unprecedented, would give Netanyahu effective control of half of the party\u2019s top 10 places: Netanyahu would remain in the No. 1 slot, while places 2, 4, 6 and 8 would be set aside for candidates he selects. He is also seeking reserved slots at 11, 15, 18, 22 and 29.<\/p>\n

\"\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9<\/a>\"\u05e8\u05d0\u05e9<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu <\/p>\n

(Photo: ilia YEFIMOVICH \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Likud, Netanyahu\u2019s ruling party, chooses most of its Knesset candidates through a party primary<\/a>. Reserved slots allow the party leader to place candidates directly on the list, bypassing the primary vote. The higher a candidate appears on the slate, the stronger their chances of entering the Knesset after the election.<\/p>\n

Likud sources familiar with Netanyahu\u2019s plan say the demand would allow him to bring in outside candidates, reshape the party\u2019s leadership ranks and push some sitting Likud lawmakers into lower, less secure positions.<\/p>\n

The internal battle over Netanyahu\u2019s demand is now approaching a decision point. Likud\u2019s constitution committee, chaired by Minister Haim Katz, was scheduled to meet Thursday to set the rules for the party primary, which is expected to be held on August 4. The rules are supposed to determine how Likud members will choose the party\u2019s Knesset list and how many places Netanyahu will be allowed to reserve.<\/p>\n

But Netanyahu has already postponed the committee meeting twice, and on Wednesday asked to delay it for a third time.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd<\/a>\"\u05d7\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd<\/p>\n

Minister Haim Katz <\/p>\n

(Photo: Ido Erez)<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to urgent constraints involving the prime minister, the honorable tribunal is asked to order an extension of the deadline for completing the proposed rules for holding primaries in Likud\u2019s constitution committee until Sunday. The meeting of the constitution committee will be postponed accordingly to that date,\u201d attorney Ilan Bombach, Likud\u2019s legal adviser, wrote to the party\u2019s internal tribunal.<\/p>\n

Senior Likud figures claim the delays are meant to \u201cdrag things out\u201d or \u201cwaste time\u201d so the party ultimately cannot organize a primary for its Knesset slate. In that scenario, they say, Netanyahu could push for the list to be chosen by a smaller party committee rather than through a vote by Likud members.<\/p>\n

\u201cNetanyahu is creating chaos so that it becomes impossible to organize primaries, and then he gets what he wants: an arranging committee,\u201d one senior Likud figure said.<\/p>\n

The scope of Netanyahu\u2019s demand has deepened the unease among Likud lawmakers. According to party sources, the plan would allow him to dominate the most secure places on the list and reduce the chances of some current members of Knesset returning after the next election.<\/p>\n

Knesset member David Bitan, chairman of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, petitioned Likud\u2019s internal tribunal on Wednesday, demanding that the party set primary rules in order to prevent further delay. Bitan is also calling for a secret vote on Netanyahu\u2019s personal reserved slots, saying members of Likud\u2019s central committee should be able to vote freely and without pressure.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d5\u05e2\u05d3\u05ea<\/a>\"\u05d5\u05e2\u05d3\u05ea<\/p>\n

Knesset member David Bitan <\/p>\n

(Photo: Knesset)<\/p>\n

Bitan has said in recent days that Netanyahu\u2019s demand for 10 personal reserved slots is undemocratic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch a large number of reserved slots is effectively an arranging committee,\u201d Bitan said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Likud sources claim Netanyahu has reached a \u201cdeal\u201d with Katz, who serves both as chairman of Likud\u2019s central committee and chairman of its constitution committee: a reserved slot in exchange for support for Netanyahu\u2019s reserved slots.<\/p>\n

Under the alleged arrangement, Netanyahu would reserve a place for Knesset member Eti Atiya, whose political patron is Katz, as part of his personal reserved slots. Likud officials estimate Atiya\u2019s chances of being elected in a primary are low to extremely slim.<\/p>\n

In return, the sources claim, Katz would help Netanyahu pass his reserved-slot plan in Likud\u2019s constitution committee and in the party\u2019s central committee. Netanyahu visited Katz\u2019s home this week to discuss Likud\u2019s election system. Katz is considered a key power broker in Likud institutions, with the ability to advance or block Netanyahu\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n

Katz\u2019s office dismissed the claims Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is nonsense,\u201d his office said. \u201cAny decision that is made will be brought for approval by the party institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The demand, described by Likud officials as unprecedented, would give Netanyahu effective control of half of the party\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-532549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}