Likud Faces Internal Backlash Over Proposed Primary Changes

Likud is facing internal uproar over reported changes being considered ahead of the party primaries. According to a report on Channel 14, the most sensitive issue is a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to alter the district system so incumbent MKs could run in merged districts. Critics inside the movement say the move would weaken regional representation and hand a narrow political advantage to specific figures.

The reported change is believed to favor MK Eti Atia, which has triggered a wave of resistance. A Likud city council member from a central Israeli city said, “Haim Katz is extorting Netanyahu to bend the system for personal matters. It will just inflame the field and cause upheaval that will only make it harder for Netanyahu to pass his proposal, which includes important entrenchments.”

Zvi’al Rubin, who is running in the Haifa district, said the plan would harm northern representation. He argued that sidelining northern district representatives would be “not only a mistake, but a direct injury to hundreds of thousands of residents of the north,” adding that people in the north, especially those near the border, have lived for more than two and a half years under a difficult security reality and deserve stronger representation. He said the north is “not a decoration on the list” and that only residents of the north should choose its representatives.

Retired police superintendent Yossi Pitusi, a candidate in the Negev district primaries, also warned against weakening regional slots. He said the Negev district is not a technical or temporary matter, but a symbol of commitment to southern residents and their right to fair representation. Pitusi urged Netanyahu to uphold fairness, equality and regional representation and keep the Negev slot in a realistic position.

Alongside the district dispute, Likud officials say another option is being examined, a merger with Gideon Saar’s New Hope. Under the emerging plan, New Hope would receive 2 to 3 reserved spots on Likud’s national slate. Political sources believe this could serve as an end run around the district dispute, possibly allowing Atia to be placed in one of those reserved positions.