Benjamin Netanyahu presents: reserve and go

Netanyahu reserved Israel Katz and Haim Katz in the Likud list, bypassing primaries. The move, published at night, grants him 10 reserved slots up to the 30th place. MK David Bitan publicly criticized it, calling it a "scheduling committee." The article calls it a political scheme and conflict of interest.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to reserve Defense Minister Israel Katz and Likud Central Committee Chairman Haim Katz in the Likud list for the Knesset, bypassing the primaries. The decision was published at 1:13 AM by the Likud spokesman, and it grants Netanyahu 10 reserved slots up to the 30th place. The move sparked an uproar in Likud, with MK David Bitan being the only one to publicly oppose it, calling it a "scheduling committee" that would allow Netanyahu to determine the list alone. The article criticizes the move as a political scheme and conflict of interest, since Katz and Haim Katz are supposed to approve their own reserved slots. The primaries are scheduled for next Monday, and petitions to the Likud court and the High Court of Justice threaten to disrupt them. The author estimates that the chaos may serve Netanyahu, who dreams of a one-man party.