A senior Likud source close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Netanyahu will eventually reach understandings with Haim Katz and Israel Katz, but that talks with MK David Bitan are much harder. Speaking to Walla, the source accused Bitan of trying to create "a faction within a faction" and of attempting to take over the party’s districts, adding that Bitan is "Achilles’ heel" in the current negotiations.
The source also said that ministers and MKs are staying quiet because they do not want primaries, even though they are afraid to say so publicly. "If there are primaries, the members will be angry," the source said, adding that Netanyahu is seeking broad agreement on the issue.
The remarks come as Bitan has become one of the most influential figures in Likud in recent years, helped by a large membership drive and political deals he built. His relationship with Netanyahu has swung between cooperation and conflict over time. In the last Likud Central Committee election, Bitan strengthened his standing, and several MKs now align with him. He is seen as someone who knows the party base well and is willing to take independent positions, including on issues beyond the primaries debate.
On Wednesday, Likud is set to hold a decisive meeting on the party’s future, especially whether the primaries will be canceled and replaced by a slate chosen by a committee. Party figures are pressing the leadership for a quick decision because the delay is affecting their political futures. Netanyahu, party secretary Haim Katz, and other party officials are expected to attend. The chance of scrapping primaries is fading because of legal and internal party obstacles, while Netanyahu is also pushing for the 10 reserved spots he wants if primaries do go ahead. According to him, two of those slots are not for him personally, but for an arrangement with Gideon Sa'ar and for keeping room for a possible future alliance between Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, similar to earlier placements for Ofir Sofer and Eli Ben-Dahan.
