Netanyahu misses party's 9:00 p.m. deadline to publish Likud slate, says will submit by Tues. a.m.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chairman of Likud, missed the party's internal court-imposed 9:00 p.m. Monday deadline to publish the list of candidates for reserved slots and a proposed resolution concerning them. This ruling followed a petition by MK David Bitan, who argued that the lack of publication hindered secretariat members' ability to prepare for a vote and challenged the reserved slot for Defense Minister Israel Katz. Attorney Yitzhak Bam, a court member, warned that publishing the proposal late "could be interpreted as an improper fait accompli." Netanyahu stated the slate would be submitted by Tuesday morning, claiming it would allow sufficient review time before the 10:00 p.m. deadline. The court rejected Bitan's request to cancel the reserved slots, citing "res judicata" on the matter of Katz's slot.