Settlers Fail to Secure Top Likud Spots Amid Disconnect With Peripheral Voters

Following the 2005 disengagement from Gush Katif, a significant alliance formed between traditional Likud supporters and the religious Zionist settlement community. However, this alliance requires mutual commitment to succeed, which recent Likud primary results suggest is lacking. Religious-nationalist MKs like Amit Halevi, Ariel Kallner, and Avichai Boaron, recognized for their quality work, were pushed down the list, while figures such as David Bitan secured top positions, raising eyebrows among settlers and religious Zionists.

Social media influencer Ayelet Lahash lamented the potential exclusion of Kallner and Boaron from the next Knesset, viewing it as a sign of Likud's decline. The article argues that many in the religious Zionist camp misunderstand Likud's nature and exhibit condescension toward its members and voters. The primary outcomes reflect genuine support from Likud members for politicians like Bitan, Amshalem, Miki Zohar, Amichai Shikli, and Eli Cohen, rather than mere political deals.

The roots of the current situation trace back two decades to the painful Gush Katif evacuation, which sparked authentic connections between Likudniks and settlers in Judea and Samaria. While the Likud base supported ending discrimination against settlers and advancing settlement growth, they failed to reciprocate by addressing the needs of peripheral towns and middle-class voters, particularly on issues like cost of living.

Despite major achievements such as establishing over 100 new settlements and 200 farms in Judea and Samaria, and infrastructure projects like Route 60, the party neglected the struggles of residents in development towns like Netivot, Kiryat Shmona, and Dimona. This disconnect fostered resentment and a lack of genuine partnership.

The article highlights that groups like the Torah cores, a strong ideological faction within Likud, sided with social ministers and politicians connected to peripheral communities, reflecting the authentic base's preferences. It criticizes dismissive attitudes toward development town voters and stresses the need for a true brotherly alliance that fights for both settlement and peripheral town interests.

To maintain the coalition between settlers and Likud voters, the article concludes, both sides must engage sincerely in each other's battles, from infrastructure in Judea and Samaria to everyday issues in peripheral towns, ensuring a balanced and enduring partnership.