Avi Halevy, the legal adviser to Likud, informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening that he is resigning immediately after 30 years in the role. The move comes amid growing internal tension in the ruling party, especially over disputes about how the Likud convention is being handled and over long-simmering friction with the party’s chief executive.
According to political reporter Moti Kastel, the resignation follows serious disagreements over legal and procedural issues tied to the Likud convention, which had deepened into an irreparable rift between Halevy and the senior management. The dispute with the party’s CEO was described as a central factor in his decision to leave, after it became a major obstacle to the day-to-day work of the party’s institutions.
Kastel also reported that attorney Ilan Bombach is expected to replace Halevy. As of the time of publication, Netanyahu’s office had not issued a formal response to the resignation or to the anticipated replacement.
Earlier Thursday, C14 political editor Moti Tuchfeld reported on a petition filed by the Social Forum of the National Labor Federation in the Jerusalem District Court, through attorney Arik Twito, seeking to cancel a restraining order issued with Halevy’s consent in the Ifergan case against Likud. The petition alleges that Halevy acted without authority when he told the court he agreed to the interim order, contrary to binding decisions of Likud’s internal tribunal, and that he misrepresented the case by saying there were no additional parties, even though the original ruling had combined several petitions before a three-judge panel. The petitioners said his actions were exceptionally serious and could harm proper governance, public trust in Likud institutions, and the rule of law.
