The Likud secretariat convened Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem and approve the prime minister’s proposal for the possibility of early elections, which include the cancellation of the primaries for the party lineup and party chairman, and the inclusion of the Kulanu party on the list.

Netanyahu is expected to combine the three clauses into one proposal – in order to block possible objections by members of the party to the freezing of the primaries and securing a slot for Kulanu leader, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. In the past few hours, Netanyahu held persuasive talks with party MKs who oppose the inclusion of Kahlon and three other Kulanu MKs on the party lineup. Among other things, Netanyahu said that in the next Knesset there will be a comprehensive Norwegian law, which says that in each faction, two ministers can resign to permit two MKs to enter in their place, so that the Likud will have four ministers who will resign, two from Likud and two from Kulanu, and this will permit the next four persons on the lineup to enter the Knesset as MKs, since one can serve as a cabinet minister without being a MK.

Netanyahu is expected to include Kahlon and Kulanu in four places on the list: 5, 15, 29, 35, with Kahlon placed fifth.

Likud MKs Ariel Kellner and Michal Shir, who are close to Gideon Saar, filed a petition to the Likud court against the holding of the discussion in the party secretariat. They argued that only the Likud Central Committee had the authority to change the constitution of the party or to allow the integration of another political body. On Monday night, several young Knesset members from the Likud met with fear of this scenario and are weighing their moves, including a threat to vote against the bill to dissolve the Knesset if the Kahlon deal is not amended.

The Likud Secretariat will also discuss the possibility of merging the Likud factions and Kulanu in the current Knesset, but only if the rest of Netanyahu’s proposal is approved. Sources in the Likud say that this is mainly a declarative move intended to provide PM Netanyahu with Kahlon’s support in dissolving the Knesset should the bill be voted on, which will occur if Netanyahu cannot assemble a coalition by Wednesday.

In any case, Likud Central Committee chairman Chaim Katz made it clear that he would convene the Knesset’s Constitution Committee and the Likud Central Committee later to present the proposals for the approval of the Likud members, as Kahlon requested.

Minister of Culture Miri Regev expressed her agreement at the beginning of the week to freeze the list, which would prevent the exhausting race in the primaries, and said “it is forbidden to touch, just copy and paste [the current list],” and she objects to securing a slot for Kahlon and said such a move would be a mistake.

Minister Ze’ev Elkin noted that a legal problem could arise with the inclusion of MKs from Kulanu on the Likud list if no other changes are made, because a combination of MKs from Kulanu will push some of the Likud MKs back to the list. Netanyahu replied, clarifying the logic: “If you are not generous to the one you need, if you are greedy and evil, you are actually pushing him to another place.”

At the same time, the Special Committee that debated the Knesset’s bill to dissolve the 21st Knesset continued its discussions on the bill in preparation for its approval for the second and third readings. So far, there is no agreed date for the next elections, if they are finally held. A tentative date of September 17, 2019 has been mentioned, but the chareidim oppose, as they feel it will interfere with the Elul zman in yeshivos since the date coincides with 17 Elul.

“The significance of the proposed bill to dissolve the Knesset carries a cost of at least NIS 475 million, which requires a budget source that is not available, and today we are deviating from the budget,” Finance Ministry budget director Bian Vetad said, stating funding for elections will have to be found if the Knesset is dissolved.

MK (Yahadut Hatorah) Uri Maklev told Walla News: “It seems unreal, unreasonable and imaginative, but we are quickly approaching the dissolution of the Knesset. What is most puzzling is that there is indifference among those who cause it,” Maklev said of Lieberman, adding “his end has been proven at the beginning. Does one topple a government on a comma or period? There is a lot of proof and some of them will become clear later that this is not the chareidim and the draft law, but the attempt to form a government, and not by Netanyahu. His repeated statements do not prove otherwise”.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)