Likud central committee members gave final approval to all proposals submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports. The outcome is seen as a victory for Netanyahu and Minister Haim Katz.
The Likud central committee gave final approval on Monday evening to all of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposals, including the eight reserved slots on the party's Knesset list and amendments to the primary election system allowing sitting MKs, ministers, and deputy ministers to run in districts. The vote capped a day of internal party proceedings that saw the proposals pass by narrow margins.
The thread of reports from the evening shows the evolution of the vote. Early reports from N12 and i24NEWS indicated that the first clause of Netanyahu's proposal, reserving eight slots, was expected to pass by a wide margin, while the second clause allowing district candidacy was hanging on a gap of about 200 votes (Mon 15:56 Jerusalem). As counting progressed, the margin narrowed to just six votes, according to Amit Segal (N12). The committee also approved Minister Haim Katz's reform proposal by a narrow majority. The final approval confirmed all three of Netanyahu's proposals and Katz's compromise.
The vote follows prior internal Likud proceedings. As The Zioneer reported on July 13, the party's committee approved a compromise proposal by Minister Katz, and Netanyahu reserved one of the eight slots for Katz, consolidating the alliance between the two. That compromise was seen as a precursor to the current vote.
The outcome is seen as a victory for Netanyahu and Katz, but the implications for sitting MKs who may face competition in districts remain a point of internal tension, as noted in earlier reports.
19 developments
Source and signal
- Open-source intake