Netanyahu Pushes Reserved Likud Slate Slots; Bitan Files 'Constitutional Coup' Petition

Likud's Constitution Committee convened in the Knesset on Sunday, June 28, 2026, to weigh Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand for up to 10 or 11 reserved slots on the party's electoral slate, an unprecedented intervention ahead of the August 4 primaries. Reported beneficiaries include Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, both seen as electoral assets in a tight national race. Construction Minister Haim Katz, who chairs the committee, has resisted the breadth of the demand, and MK David Bitan petitioned Likud's internal court calling the move a "constitutional coup" against the party's roughly 100,000 members. Any rule change still requires Central Committee ratification; the panel also unanimously postponed the primaries from July 28 to August 4.