Likud Grants Netanyahu Eight Reserved Slots in First 30

Likud's Central Committee approved a primary-election framework granting party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu authority to select eight candidates within the first 30 places on the party's Knesset slate. Voting closed Monday at 8 p.m.; Hebrew reports put turnout at about 3,400 of roughly 4,500 eligible delegates, or 73%. The framework also changes district placements and permits serving ministers, deputy ministers and MKs to compete for district slots. The vote followed a Likud court ruling that the primaries, now scheduled for August 17, may not be canceled during a security escalation, rejecting a separate provision Netanyahu had backed.