Legal Battle Erupts in Likud Primaries Over Reserved Seats and Party Lawyer Ilan Bombach

The internal conflict within Israel's Likud party has intensified ahead of the upcoming primaries, centering on reserved seats and legal disputes. Attorney Yair Gabay, a candidate in the Jerusalem and Shfela district primaries and a petitioner against allowing incumbent Knesset members to run in districts, launched a sharp attack against Likud's legal advisor, Ilan Bombach. This escalation follows the Likud court issuing an interim injunction halting the vote on the reserved seat of Minister Haim Katz, after a petition by attorney Aviad Visoli alleging conflicts of interest and political quid pro quo, given Katz's role as chairman of the Likud Constitution Committee involved in shaping the reserved seat framework. The court did not rule on the allegations but deemed them worthy of investigation and paused the vote.

Gabay criticized Bombach for contradictory behavior, recalling how Bombach opposed incumbent candidates running in districts by appealing to the district court against the Likud court's decision, accusing the court of judicial activism. Gabay called this stance "a lack of clean hands without precedent" and accused Bombach of bad faith, highlighting the inconsistency as the party now relies on the court for decisions on reserved seats. Despite supporting reserved seats for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gabay condemned turning courts into battlegrounds for internal party disputes.

The legal battles have overshadowed the primaries, with the reserved seat contests for ministers Gideon Sa’ar and Israel Katz proceeding without injunctions, while Katz's seat remains in limbo pending further court rulings. The Likud court's injunction against Katz's reserved seat came just a week before the primaries, illustrating how the fight over the Likud list now involves candidates, party members, the party court, external courts, and legal advisors alike.