Likud tribunal clears way for key vote on Netanyahu bid to expand sway over party slate

A key Likud vote on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial bid to expand his influence over the party’s Knesset slate is set to take place this evening after an internal party tribunal blocked attempts to introduce a competing proposal, following a tense overnight hearing, Hebrew media reports.

Any such competing proposals, the court reportedly said, would amount to “changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

The tribunal ruled that conference delegates must first vote on primary voting regulations approved last week by the Constitution Committee and backed by Netanyahu, rejecting attempts to introduce alternate rules before that vote is held.

The decision effectively prevents veteran Likud MK Haim Katz from advancing a rival proposal.

According to reports, the Likud court also ruled that delegates will hold a separate vote on whether current and former ministers and Knesset members should be allowed to compete for slots on the party slate reserved for specific districts – the central point of contention in the dispute.

The decision comes after a vote by the 4,500-member Likud conference on Netanyahu’s proposal was halted at the last minute last week when the Lod District Court issued a temporary injunction.

Under the proposal, approved by Likud’s Constitution Committee as part of a compromise with Katz, Netanyahu would receive eight reserved slots on the Likud list – including three in the top 10 – up from the three reserved spots among the top 30 candidates he was granted in the party’s last primaries, in 2022.

The proposal has sparked fierce opposition within Likud led by senior MK David Bitan. The primary, which will determine the party’s Knesset slate in the October 27 election, has already been already postponed by two weeks, to August 17, amid the ongoing dispute.