Likud postpones primaries to August 4 as Netanyahu fights for control of party slate

PM is reportedly seeking to choose 11 of the top 40 names on the Likud list in order to consolidate his power, broaden party’s appeal as Eisenkot rises in polls

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party will hold its internal primaries on August 4 after the party’s Constitution Committee voted unanimously on Sunday to postpone the contest by one week from its previously scheduled date of July 28, while leaving unresolved a dispute over how much control the premier will have over the party’s Knesset slate.

The battle over the primary rules reflects Netanyahu’s wider effort to secure unprecedented influence over Likud’s Knesset slate ahead of the national election set to be held by October 27, while broadening the party’s appeal beyond its traditional activist base. But the push has run into resistance from influential figures within his own party, exposing a rare internal power struggle over who will shape Likud’s future parliamentary lineup.

Netanyahu is reportedly demanding 11 reserved slots within the top 40 places on the list, including five in the top ten, allowing him to install handpicked candidates.

Constitution Committee chairman and minister Haim Katz and veteran lawmaker David Bitan, however, oppose this demand and are reportedly only willing to grant the premier up to six reserved slots within the top 30 places. No agreement has yet been reached, and the Constitution Committee is expected to decide the issue in the coming weeks.

The dispute follows Netanyahu’s earlier threat to scrap the primaries altogether and instead have a selection committee choose the party’s slate unless he was granted the authority to handpick ten candidates in the top 35 spots.

The proposal appears to have been shelved after fierce opposition from Katz, Bitan and other senior Likud figures, with Bitan last week petitioning the party’s internal court to block any attempt to cancel the primaries.

The premier is reportedly concerned that primaries could elevate candidates who are highly popular among the Likud base but who internal party polling suggests are less appealing to moderate right-wing and swing voters whose support could prove decisive in the upcoming national election.

They include ministers Shlomo Karhi and May Golan, whom the Israel Police have recommended indicting on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, as well as MK Tally Gotliv, who was recently granted immunity from criminal prosecution by the Knesset for exposing the identity of a Shin Bet officer, which she has openly acknowledged.

The Constitution Committee has meanwhile said that it will publish rules regarding the primaries by July 2. Party membership registration will close on July 7, though the committee will also ask the Central Elections Committee to extend the deadline until July 10.

The party held elections in November for its municipal branches and powerful Central Committee for the first time in almost 14 years. With no challenger to Netanyahu’s leadership, party members were instead asked merely to approve his continued tenure as party chairman, meaning the August contest will determine only the candidates ranked below him on the party’s slate.

Likud has long prided itself on being one of only a handful of Israeli parties that hold primaries to select both their leader and Knesset slate, alongside the left-wing Democrats, which is set to hold internal elections on July 20, and the Arab-majority Hadash, which held a primary in May.

With the question of whether to hold primaries now settled, negotiations have shifted entirely to the scope of Netanyahu’s reserved slots.

The premier’s insistence on reserved slots, which has long faced resistance from within the party, also comes as Netanyahu seeks to stem the flow of moderate right-wing voters toward the opposition bloc’s Gadi Eisenkot, whose newly formed Yashar party has been consistently rising in polls and overtook Likud for the first time in a Zman Yisrael poll last week.

Recent polls show Likud falling from its current 32 seats to roughly 22-24. A Channel 12 poll published in May found that 42% of Israelis who voted Likud in 2022 had either decided or were considering backing another party, with many appearing to be drifting toward Eisenkot.

A Channel 12 poll published on Thursday also found Eisenkot edging out Netanyahu in a head-to-head matchup for prime minister, with 38 percent of respondents saying he was better suited for the role, compared to 36% for the premier.

Netanyahu appears to be taking the challenge posed by Eisenkot seriously, using a press conference largely devoted to defending his handling of the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran to attack his rival and attempt to recast himself as a consensus builder committed to national unity.