Likud Court Orders Netanyahu to Publish Reserved Knesset Seats

The Likud party's supreme court on Monday ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the party chairman, to promptly publish the proposed reserved seats for the party's Knesset list. The ruling came after MK David Bitan filed a petition, arguing that the names of the reserved candidates had not yet been published, contrary to a previous court decision requiring the proposal to be shared with secretariat members at least 48 hours before a vote.

Court member Adv. Yitzchak Bam warned that publishing the proposal shortly before the vote could be seen as an "unseemly snatch." He stipulated that if a formal proposal is not submitted to the secretariat members by 9:00 PM, the party's legal advisor must explain why this should not be considered implicit consent for a secret ballot without the need for 10% of members' signatures.

Bitan's petition also sought to declare that Minister Israel Katz's reserved seat would be counted against the prime minister's allocated reserved seats, not in addition to them, as previously decided by the court. Bitan argued that the failure to publish the reserved candidate names hinders the secretariat members' ability to prepare for the vote. The court rejected Bitan's request to cancel the reserved seats, stating the issue had already been decided and was at the discretion of the party chairman.

The court acknowledged that extreme political circumstances might justify deviating from the 48-hour notice period, especially since some parties had already submitted their lists. However, it emphasized that Netanyahu should quickly publish his proposed reserved seats if he intends to use them. The court clarified that it does not believe canceling the reserved seats is justified under the current circumstances, noting the 48-hour period is intended to allow secretariat members to reconsider and potentially demand a secret ballot.