Netanyahu to Reveal Reserved Knesset List Candidates Tuesday Morning

Prime Minister and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu intends to reveal on Tuesday morning the list of candidates he wishes to reserve on the Likud's Knesset slate. This was stated in a response submitted by Likud legal counsel Ilan Bombach to the party's tribunal.

The announcement follows a demand from the Likud tribunal for the reservation proposal to be published by 9:00 PM on Monday. The tribunal ruled that if the proposal was not submitted to Likud secretariat members by the deadline, the party's legal counsel would have to explain why this should not be considered consent for a secret ballot in the secretariat without requiring signatures from 10% of its members.

Bombach criticized the tribunal's proceedings, arguing that Likud was given only 115 minutes to review a lengthy petition, receive instructions, clarify facts, formulate a position, and submit a legal response. He described the timeline as unreasonable and disproportionate, significantly harming the respondent's right to argue its case. He added that the decision was made ex parte and that Likud's response was submitted "under protest, purely as a precaution."

The dispute over the timeline comes hours before the final deadline for submitting party lists to the Knesset. The Likud secretariat meeting to approve the reserved candidates, originally scheduled for 11:00 AM Tuesday, has been postponed to 2:00 PM, while the final deadline for submitting lists to the Central Elections Committee is 10:00 PM Tuesday.

The tribunal explained its demand for advance notice of the names was to allow secretariat members to review them and consider requesting a secret ballot. Attorney Yitzhak Bam, who signed the decision, warned that publishing the proposal shortly before the vote "could be interpreted as an improper maneuver."