Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz Resign From Likud, Triggering New Knesset Entries

Significant changes are underway in the Likud party as MKs Yuli Edelstein and Dan Illouz plan to resign from the Knesset after joining new political factions. Edelstein is moving to the new party led by Gilad Erdan, while Illouz is joining Yisrael Beiteinu. Their resignations will open two seats in the 25th Knesset, creating a domino effect that will bring new MKs into the parliament.

Following Tzachi Hanegbi's resignation from Likud and his role as National Security Advisor, the next in line to fill the vacant seats are Shabtai Katesh, replacing Illouz, and media personality and publicist Erez Tadmor, replacing Edelstein. Meanwhile, Likud MK Avichai Boaron publicly urged Edelstein and Illouz to resign within 24 hours, threatening to convene the party to declare them as defectors if they fail to do so. Boaron criticized their political shift as unethical and a betrayal of voters' trust.

In response, Illouz dismissed Boaron's remarks as an attempt to gain attention amid difficult primary elections and confirmed his intention to resign soon, either tomorrow or Tuesday, despite representing Likud's values strongly during his term. Illouz is expected to resign before the Likud primaries scheduled for August 17, while Edelstein has not yet decided whether to resign before or after the primaries.

A legal question arose regarding the eligibility of Katesh and Tadmor, who are both running in the upcoming primaries in the Jerusalem-West Bank-Shfela district. Legal sources within Likud clarified that since their Knesset tenure will be shorter than six months, they do not gain the advantages of incumbent MKs, and thus their candidacies remain valid.

Shabtai Katesh is a lawyer and businessman from Lod, a Chabad Hasid and chairman of Likud's ultra-Orthodox headquarters with broad support. Erez Tadmor is a co-founder of the "Im Tirtzu" movement, a publicist close to Netanyahu's circle, and a former speechwriter and campaign manager for Netanyahu. If another seat opens in the current Likud list, Gilad Sharon, son of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, is next in line. Sharon, who previously attempted to run in Likud but was blocked by Netanyahu, is currently running independently within the party's institutions.