Bitan warns Likud could ‘disappear’ as Netanyahu weighs scrapping party primaries

By Ariela Karmel

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22 June 2026, 12:58 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Head of the opposition and the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to cast his vote in the Likud primaries, at a polling station in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2022, (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Then-head of the opposition and the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to cast his vote in the Likud primaries, at a polling station in Tel Aviv on August 10, 2022, (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Likud MK David Bitan warns that his party could “disappear” within a decade amid reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to replace the party’s primaries with a committee that would determine its Knesset slate ahead of upcoming national elections.

According to Hebrew media reports, Netanyahu is weighing either replacing the party’s primaries with a selection committee that would effectively allow him to shape the party’s electoral slate or preserving the primary system in exchange for a significant number of reserved slots on the list.

“The entire foundation of Likud is the connection between elected officials and party members. That gives the party its vitality,” Bitan says, speaking to 103FM radio.

Asked whether Likud itself could disappear without primaries, Bitan replies: “Within eight years, in my opinion, yes.”

Likud has long prided itself on its internal democratic processes, as one of only a handful of Israeli parties that hold primaries to select both its leader and Knesset slate, including the left-wing Democrats and Arab-majority Hadash.

“You can’t change the system so dramatically a month before primaries. If people want to discuss changing the system, let’s discuss it for the next election,” Bitan says, arguing that Netanyahu himself would never have risen to lead Likud if not for the party’s democratic system.

The remarks come after the veteran lawmaker, one of the party’s most influential figures, filed a petition with Likud’s internal court last night to block any effort to cancel the primaries, arguing that such a move would amount to a “constitutional coup,” depriving tens of thousands of party members of their right to choose the party’s representatives.

He is also asking the court to require that any proposal to amend the party constitution be decided by secret ballot.

The issue is expected to come to a head on Thursday, when Likud’s Constitution Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss upcoming primaries, which are set to be held by the end of July.