Tel Aviv Court Rejects Petition, Forbids Likud MKs From Running in District Primaries

The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Likud MK Afif Abed and the party itself against a Likud internal court ruling. The ruling prohibits current and former Likud ministers and Knesset members from running in district primaries scheduled for August 17, forcing them to compete only on the national party list. This decision was initially pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Haim Katz but was narrowly approved at the party conference.

The ruling benefits new candidates who have never been elected, as they will not have to compete against established Likud figures in the districts. The district primary winners will fill reserved slots on the party list: slot 27 for the Shfela, Jerusalem, and West Bank district; slot 28 for the unified Tel Aviv and Dan district; slot 30 for the Galilee and Valleys; and slot 31 for the Negev district.

For Netanyahu, this presents a challenge, as 12 of the top 36 list spots will be occupied by new candidates, including eight reserved slots and four district representatives he may be less familiar with. The court cited Likud Supreme Court President Michael Kleiner, who argued that allowing sitting MKs and ministers to run in districts violates the party constitution by undermining equality for new candidates. He described the districts as "nature reserves" and "incubators" for new leadership under fair conditions.

Another judge, Yitzhak Bam, highlighted voting irregularities during the party conference, such as missing envelopes and improperly marked ballots, which contributed to invalidating the vote that allowed MKs and ministers to run in districts. The original Likud Central Committee decision granted Netanyahu eight reserved list slots and approved the rule change permitting incumbents to run in districts, but the narrow vote led to legal challenges citing disorder and alleged fraud.