Lead

The Likud party's top internal court has approved a reserved place on the party's Knesset slate for senior minister Haim Katz, according to reports from the Jerusalem Post. The decision came one day after the court temporarily blocked a vote on the move during a party secretariat meeting.

The three-judge panel approved Katz's placement by a majority, while unanimously approving reserved slots for Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. The court found that the party's election rules allow the Likud chairman to use his allotted slots to shape a slate representing the party's different constituencies.

Coverage Comparison

The Jerusalem Post reported on the court's rulings in two separate articles. The first, published August 4, detailed an overnight decision by the Likud Court that overturned one of the central and most dramatic decisions adopted by the Likud convention the previous week. In that ruling, the court determined that current and former lawmakers, ministers, and deputy ministers would not be permitted to run in regional slots in the primaries.

The second article, published August 12, focused on the court's subsequent approval of a reserved place for Haim Katz, noting the interim order issued during Tuesday's Likud Secretariat vote because Katz had already registered for the August 17 primaries and begun campaigning.

Both reports describe the court's findings and rulings, with the earlier report noting the court's criticism of leaks to the media during consideration of the petitions and its identification of discrepancies in the voting process, including missing envelopes and ballots.

Key Claims

  • The Likud's top internal court approved a reserved place on the party's Knesset slate for senior minister Haim Katz, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
  • The court found that the party's election rules allow the Likud chairman to use his allotted slots to shape a slate representing the party's different constituencies.
  • The court said reserving a place for a veteran lawmaker who had intended to compete in the primary was less disruptive to other candidates than using the slot for an outside contender.
  • The Likud Court overturned a decision to open regional slots to elected officials, blocking a move promoted by Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and the chairman of the party's Constitution Committee, Minister Haim Katz.
  • The court ruled that the 35th place on the Likud list would be returned to the national slate rather than reserved for a woman.
  • The court criticized leaks to the media during the consideration of the petitions.
  • The court found discrepancies in the voting process, including missing envelopes and ballots.
The ruling against opening regional slots to elected officials was approved by the convention by a razor-thin majority of just five votes, according to the Jerusalem Post. In addition to canceling that decision, the court ruled that the deadline for submitting candidacies would be extended by 48 hours, and that for the purpose of guaranteed representation, an immigrant would be defined as someone who moved to Israel after January 1, 1990.

The eight reserved slots granted to Netanyahu by the convention will remain in effect. The court also addressed a widely publicized claim that Netanyahu had been recorded as having voted even though he had not legally cast a ballot, rejecting the claim and ruling that no supporting evidence had been presented and that the polling station protocol contained orderly documentation of his vote.

Perspectives

The court's rulings have significant political implications, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Lawmakers who had sought to run in regional slots as an alternative route to the crowded national slate have lost that option, while Netanyahu retains eight reserved slots. The court's decisions reflect an interpretation of party rules that allows the chairman to use his allotted slots to shape a slate representing different constituencies, while also setting limits on the opening of regional slots to elected officials.