Arabic version: تمهيد انتخابات الليكود للانتخابات الإسرائيلية

According to Al Jazeera, Israel’s governing Likud Party will hold primaries to select candidates for the country’s upcoming general election. The vote is expected to carry particular importance for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his party, with Likud primaries described as among the most heated events in Israel’s political calendar.

Israel uses proportional representation, with parties submitting ranked candidate lists for the 120-member Knesset. Seats are allocated according to each list’s share of the national vote. Likud, the Democrats party and the left-wing Hadash are among the parties whose members determine candidates’ places on their lists.

Likud’s list also includes reserved places for women, young candidates and recent immigrants, as well as selections controlled by Netanyahu. Eight places are available through his role as party leader and three more stem from agreements within the party, leaving 15 realistic positions in the top 30 for other candidates.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is set to appear uncontested under an agreement linked to the March 2025 merger of his New Hope party with Likud. Defence Minister Israel Katz and Likud Constitution Committee Chair Haim Katz are also due uncontested places through separate arrangements. Netanyahu has not announced all of his nominees, but has publicly supported former Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen in the primaries. Likud has also given a spot to technology entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky, who the party said would lead artificial-intelligence efforts in the economy, education, healthcare and finance if elected.