Israel’s governing Likud Party will hold primaries to choose candidates for the country’s upcoming crunch general election. Likud’s primaries are among the most heated and unruly events in the Israeli political calendar. The legislative election is also likely to be the most consequential for both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party, adding particular intrigue to Monday’s primaries.
The right-wing party broke the Labor-left monopoly on Israeli politics when Likud leader Menachem Begin became prime minister following the 1977 general election. Likud has been credited with radically redrawing Israel’s political map and shifting the centre ground dramatically to the right. Likud-led governments have waged major wars and military campaigns, including the invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the government’s violent response to the Palestinian second Intifada beginning in 2000, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The party also broke with past government consensus on the issue of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank by defying international law and offering increasing support to violent settler groups. At the same time, successive Likud governments have actively worked to halt any progress on the two- state solution agreed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the 1990s. Since Netanyahu began to dominate Israeli politics over the past two decades, there has been widespread opposition in Israel to this peace process.
Under Israel’s system of proportional representation, each party submits its list of candidates, ranging from its primary choice – such as the party leader – to the least likely to be elected. Seats in the 120-member Knesset or parliament are then allocated according to each list’s share of the vote. For instance, if Likud got 23.4 percent of the votes, as they did in the last election, the top 32 names on their list would be given seats.
Likud, the Democrats party, and the left-wing Hadash are among a handful of Israeli parties that allow members to determine who will appear on the list and in what order. Beyond those places earmarked for women, young candidates and recent immigrants, are candidates selected personally by Netanyahu. Eight of these are granted through his position as leader and three via deals struck with others in the party.
That leaves just 15 realistic places for other candidates in the top 30. As well as granting eight seats to Netanyahu as party leader, Likud has agreed to allow three other members of the Knesset to appear on the list uncontested. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would be allowed to appear after a deal when his New Hope party merged with Likud in March 2025.
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