Likud primaries

Likud panel expands Netanyahu’s control over party list to reserve eight slots ahead of primaries

Netanyahu reportedly has held several meetings with Katz ahead of the vote, seeking to bridge disagreements over the primary system.

|ByKESHET NEEV
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a memorial ceremony for Zionist leader Theodor Herzl at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 5, 2026.
A voting box in the last Israeli election in 2015

Let voters have a say in who they vote in to Knesset - opinion

The adoption of a ‘semi-open ballot’ in Israel enjoys broad support across the political spectrum, both among civil society organizations and among the members of Knesset and their parties. 

|ByOFER KENIG
The Likud Constitution Committee, headed by the Chairman of the Likud Central Committee, Chairman of the Constitution Committee, Minister Haim Katz, has now convened announcing that the date of the primaries will be held on: 4.8.2026

Likud postpones primaries to August amid debate over Netanyahu’s influence on party list

While no decision has been announced on allowing Netanyahu to control the first slots, the updated rules and procedures for the primaries are expected to be released on Thursday.

|ByKESHET NEEV
Knesset member Amit Halevi on the Temple Mount

Likud MK: Netanyahu expected to work 'behind closed doors’ for influence over list - interview

Halevi is a member of the Likud Constitution Committee, which will hold a vote on changing the primary system in a way that could grant Netanyahu authority to select candidates for the highest slots.

|ByKESHET NEEV

Miri Regev says Likud will go to primaries, but 'Netanyahu's voice will be heard in the process'

Speaking with Gideon Oko and Amichai Attali on the 103FM program Seven Nine, Regev said that after several days of uncertainty, the party would hold primaries.

JUNE 23, 2026By103FM
Transportation Minister Miri Regev addresses the Knesset, January 21, 2026; illustrative.

Likud tensions rise as Netanyahu threatens to leave over 10 reserved election slots

According to the sources, Likud's Central Committee Chairman Haim Katz believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand could "crush the Likud."

JUNE 23, 2026ByANNA BARSKY
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conferene at the Prime Minister's office in Jerursalem, June 15, 2026

Netanyahu pushes to reserve seats for Sa'ar, Kahlon in top ten Likud slots - report

The Likud is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the party's future and to debate replacing the primaries with a “selection committee” system.

JUNE 23, 2026BySHIR PERETS, YEHUDA SHLEZINGER
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and finance minister Moshe Kahlon.

Middle Israel: How Likud’s primaries poisoned Israeli politics - opinion

The 18-year fencing match between Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin came to a sudden end, thanks to an invention Israel had never seen: primary elections. 

MAY 15, 2026ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
A LIKUD supporter waves the party’s flag at a gathering, a show of grassroots loyalty which has long defined the movement, even as critics say its primaries have reshaped, and at times distorted, who rises within its ranks.

Suspect arrested for sexually harassing Likud activist Hadar Mukhtar

The suspect has since been released under restrictive conditions.

NOVEMBER 20, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Hadar Muchtar arrives to register her Fiery Youth party for the upcoming elections at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2022.

Likud MKs slam Gotliv for erratic behavior, lack of legislative success

According to a Likud MK, Gotliv chastised ministers for engaging with Arab colleagues and was seen singing provocatively to MK Walid Taha in the Knesset corridors.

AUGUST 20, 2025ByAVI SOLOMON
MK Tally Gotliv speaks outside the court in Tel Aviv during a case against Eli Feldstein, November 21, 2024

Likud's use of reserved slots keep the number of women MKs low - opinion

Opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu's use of reserved slots in Israel's Likud Party has become the focus of bitter competition among women.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2022ByGIDEON RAHAT, CHEN FRIEDBERG
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and the female ministers in the government pose for a photo with visiting German chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this year.

Israel elections: How are Likud and Labor primaries significant? - opinion

One thing is certain: neither the list elected last week in the Labor Party, nor the one elected in the Likud would have been imaginable back in the 1990s.

AUGUST 14, 2022BySUSAN HATTIS ROLEF
LIKUD CHAIRMAN and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu casts his ballot in the party primary, last week.

Who are the new members of the Likud list?

An in-depth look into five of the 10 new Likud list members likely to enter the next Knesset.

AUGUST 13, 2022ByELIAV BREUER
Likud party supporters arrive to cast their votes in the Likud primaries at a polling station in Ashdod on August 10, 2022.

Loyalty to Netanyahu pays off for Likud's primary hopefuls

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: What does a changing Likud list mean for opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu?

AUGUST 12, 2022ByELIAV BREUER
A LIKUD polling station in Jerusalem on Wednesday