Israel Katz Secures Reserved Spot on Likud List Citing "Exceptional Security Situation"

The Likud party announced overnight, between Monday and Tuesday, one week before its primaries, that its secretariat will be asked to approve reserved places on the party’s Knesset candidate list for Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and party central committee chairman Minister Haim Katz. Approval of the reserved slots is expected to take place alongside the presentation of new reserved candidates by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The reserved slots eliminate the need for the three to run in the primaries. The party said the defense minister "was expected to reach the top of the list anyway," and that the party tribunal ruled he should be given a reserved place "in order to allow him to focus on security needs and not engage in politics at this time." Channel 12 News reported that the Likud party tribunal had already approved the request concerning the defense minister last week.

In addition, Sa’ar will be placed on the list under the merger agreement signed between his party and Likud, while Minister Haim Katz will receive a reserved slot by virtue of his role as chairman of the party’s central committee.

According to assessments, the defense minister will be placed in the second group of five candidates on the list. Sa’ar is expected to be placed among the top 10, and Haim Katz in the second group of 10. Netanyahu holds eight reserved spots through position No. 30, in positions 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26, and 29. One of them has already been allocated to businessman Oren Dobronsky in the No. 11 spot.