Bitan's muscle, Netanyahu's jab: the political nightmare of the 'Likud bulldozer' | Mati Tuchfeld

The Likud court rejected the decision to allow sitting MKs and ministers to run in the primaries also in the districts. Haim Katz, who supported the understandings with Netanyahu, is considered the big loser. Atiya and Shitrit will have to compete in the crowded national list. Bitan, who opposed, got satisfaction.

The Likud court rejected the convention's decision that allowed sitting MKs and ministers to run in the primaries also in the district slots. The ruling, headed by court president Michael Kleiner, overturned the narrow victory of Haim Katz at the convention, where the proposal was approved by a margin of only five votes. Katz, nicknamed the 'Likud bulldozer', negotiated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help his associates, MKs Etty Atiya and Keti Shitrit, integrate into the list. Netanyahu refused to shield them through his quota of reserved slots, so an alternative outline was formulated. Under the understandings, Katz supported two important clauses for Netanyahu: changing the primaries regulations and increasing the number of reserved slots to eight, in exchange for the third clause. The ruling is expected to increase crowding in the national list, where all sitting MKs and ministers will compete. David Bitan, who opposed the move, scored an achievement: in the ballot in Rishon LeZion, his power base, Netanyahu lost all three proposals, although in the other polling stations he won a large majority in the first two. Katz gave Netanyahu the required support but lost the only clause intended to give him direct political reward.