In a statement issued at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Likud party announced that its Secretariat will be asked to approve reserved spots on the party’s Knesset slate for Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, and Likud Central Committee Chairman Chaim Katz, in addition to the spots allocated for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s own selections.

The announcement, which caught senior party members by surprise, sparked an uproar within Likud Tuesday morning, with ministers and MKs sharply criticizing the move and accusing party leaders of circumventing primary voters and pushing incumbent lawmakers further down the slate.

One Likud minister told Walla: “It’s an absolute disgrace on the highest level — a hostile takeover of the movement by party operatives, insane corruption.” Another Likud MK called the move “a disgrace and a power grab.”

Likud said in its statement that “the party court ruled last week that the defense minister, who in any event was expected to secure a place near the top of the slate, should receive a reserved spot in order to allow him to focus on the country’s security needs rather than engage in politics at this time.”

The party added that “Sa’ar will receive a reserved slot as part of the merger agreement between his party and Likud, while Chaim Katz will receive a spot by virtue of his position as chairman of the Likud Central Committee.”

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman defended the move Tuesday morning, telling Kan Reshet Bet: “Gideon Sa’ar is part of an agreement that has to be honored, and Yisrael Katz is serving as defense minister and I believe he would have finished high on the slate anyway. As for Chaim Katz, I’m not getting into other people and why they are receiving spots.”

Behind the scenes, however, senior Likud officials said Netanyahu has a clear political objective behind the move: to “lock down the top of the slate.”

Despite the announcement, Likud sources said Tuesday morning that the chances of the reserved spots for the “two Katzes” ultimately winning approval from the party Secretariat are very low.

The move requires the approval of the Likud Secretariat, which includes incumbent MKs who stand to be directly harmed by the decision and are expected to fight to block it. The Secretariat also includes dozens of members close to MK David Bitan, who opposes the move.

A fierce internal political battle is expected within Likud in the coming days, with the party’s August 17 primaries just days away. Approximately 142,000 Likud members are eligible to vote.

Tensions within the party intensified after the Tel Aviv District Court on Monday overturned a Likud Central Committee decision that would have allowed incumbent ministers and MKs to compete for district slots. The ruling means that they will all have to compete on the national slate, raising the possibility that as many as half of Likud’s current Knesset faction could fail to secure realistic spots for the next Knesset.

Likud officials said Tuesday morning that Yisrael Katz is expected to receive a spot between Nos. 6 and 10 on the slate, while Chaim Katz would be guaranteed a spot no lower than No. 18.

These placements would be in addition to the eight reserved spots Netanyahu has been granted among the top 30 places on the slate—Nos. 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26 and 29.

The late-night announcement came just hours after Likud revealed Netanyahu’s first personal selection: businessman Oren Dobronsky, who will receive the No. 11 spot. Dobronsky, the founder of a chain of hummus restaurants in Silicon Valley and known for his appearance on the Israeli version of “Shark Tank,” is expected to focus on advancing artificial intelligence in the Israeli economy.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)