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Monday, June 22, 2026
Report: Netanyahu backs away from bid to scrap Likud primaries, seeks 8-10 reserved slots instead
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela 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.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly abandoning plans to cancel his Likud party’s primaries and replace them with a committee to appoint its Knesset slate, in exchange for receiving eight to ten reserved slots on the slate for candidates of his choosing, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
Netanyahu has been reportedly weighing either replacing the primaries, set to be held by the end of July, with a selection committee that would effectively allow him to shape the party’s slate, or securing a long-sought expansion of his authority to install up to 10 of his own favored choices into the top 35 places on the Likud slate.
According to Kan, the premier now believes that dropping the more sweeping proposal could help him win approval for the reserved slots — something he has repeatedly sought but has been denied by party institutions.
The arrangement, however, has yet to be approved, with Likud MK David Bitan and other senior lawmakers reported to oppose it.
The development comes after Bitan launched a public and legal campaign against efforts to replace the party’s primaries with a selection committee.
The veteran lawmaker 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.
The Times of Israel Community.