Likud MK Tzaga Malka Withdraws from Party Primaries Over Eligibility Dispute

Tzaga Malka, a Likud Member of Knesset, announced her withdrawal from the party's upcoming primaries for the 26th Knesset elections. Her decision follows a ruling by the Likud's internal court, which disqualified her from running in the slot reserved for new immigrants. This disqualification came after a petition by candidate Eddy Cohen, citing the Likud constitution that only allows candidates who immigrated to Israel from 1993 onwards to compete for this position. Malka immigrated to Israel in the 1980s, making her ineligible under this rule.

Malka is the third MK to drop out of the current Likud primary race, joining Eliyahu Revivo and Moshe Pasal, who also announced they would not run. Their withdrawals add to a list of ministers and MKs, including Yuli Edelstein, Dan Illouz, and Galit Distel Atbaryan, who have decided not to participate in the primaries.

The Likud party recently published its final list of candidates for the primaries scheduled for Monday, after all legal petitions were withdrawn, resolving a legal crisis that threatened to delay the internal elections. The list includes all current ministers and MKs except for those who have withdrawn, such as Edelstein, Illouz, and Revivo. New candidates approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to shorten their required party membership period are also included, such as Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, Dror Kafach, Shay Kalach, and Eli Shtewi. Meanwhile, candidate Smadar Mores withdrew from the "New Woman" list and will not participate in the primaries.