The Likud party issued a statement Saturday evening denying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered MK Gilad Erdan a reserved spot on the party's Knesset list, either directly or indirectly. The statement contradicts Erdan's earlier claim that he was offered a reserved slot and refused.
Likud officially denied Saturday evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered MK Gilad Erdan a reserved spot on the party's Knesset list, directly contradicting Erdan's earlier claim. The denial came hours after Erdan, in an interview on N12's 'Meet the Press' aired around 19:42 Jerusalem, stated that he had been offered a reserved slot but refused, citing the October 7 massacre as his reason for setting aside political interests.
The Zioneer first reported Erdan's claim at 19:42 Jerusalem in a brief version, followed by a more detailed report that included his explanation that the October 7 massacre compelled him to reject the offer. No other sources have corroborated Erdan's claim. The Likud denial, issued without naming a specific source, states that the offer was not made "directly or indirectly."
The dispute over reserved slots comes amid ongoing internal Likud tensions. As The Zioneer reported on July 26, Likud MKs and ministers have been posting videos supporting Netanyahu's reserved slots proposal, following pressure from the Prime Minister's Office. The proposal, which would allocate a high number of reserved slots, has been a point of contention within the party.
It is not yet clear whether Erdan will respond to the denial, or whether the party will address the contradiction publicly. The statement did not provide evidence or indicate whether the issue will be discussed further. The accuracy of Erdan's claim remains unverified by independent sources.
4 developments
Source and signal
- Open-source intake