Likud Party Internal Dispute Over Knesset Candidate List

Israel's governing Likud party is holding a constitutional committee meeting today to decide the method for forming its candidate list for the upcoming 26th Knesset election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to attend and is pushing to amend the allocation rules so the party leader can reserve ten seats among the top thirty positions.

Party officials Hayim Katz and David Bitan are leading opposition within the committee, insisting the leader should be limited to six reserved seats and that district and regional representatives remain in the top thirty. The debate also covers the future of reserved slots for women and youth, which Netanyahu has suggested merging into his proposed guarantees.

The dispute comes as Likud’s poll numbers slip, with moderate right‑wing voters drifting toward Gideon Aizenkot and younger voters toward Itamar Ben‑Gvir. Netanyahu is reportedly considering adding new faces such as activist Yossi Haddad and former soldier Neta‑Lee Shim‑Tov to attract these groups. The committee is also weighing two possible dates for the party primaries, either 4 August or 11 August.