Likud grants Netanyahu 8 slots on Knesset list, option to nix primaries in wartime

A key Likud internal panel has granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eight reserved slots on the Knesset list and the option to cancel the upcoming party primary if a "wartime situation" prevents it. Seven of these slots will be within the top 29 seats. The Likud Constitution Committee, chaired by MK Haim Katz, also authorized Netanyahu to convene a five-member organizing committee of Likud mayors to determine the candidate list if security conditions preclude a primary.

Netanyahu stated he remains "in favor of a primary," but argued that "there is a possibility that we could find ourselves in an exceptional security situation that would make it difficult to hold campaign events."

This decision follows a court temporarily halting a previous vote on primary rules due to alleged procedural flaws, and the primary is now expected to be postponed until August 17. The move has faced internal opposition, notably from senior MK David Bitan, who criticized the impact on democratic processes within Likud.