A primary election was held by Likud on 17 August 2026 to select its list of candidates ahead of the 2026 Israeli legislative election.

Background

Expanding reserved slots Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu sought in May 2026 to expand the number of reserved slots which he could select on the party's electoral list, supporting a plan which would allow him to select 10 candidates. Another option he considered was replacing the primaries entirely with a selection committee, which party member David Bitan strongly opposed.

The Lod District Court postponed a scheduled 15 July vote to approve the plan, ruling that rather than the party's Central Committee, the electorate should be expanded to include Likud voters.

The party's Constitution Committee met on 19 July, approving a plan that gave Netanyahu the right to select eight seats, in addition to allowing him to cancel primaries in the event of "wartime." The Likud court intervened on 26 July, issuing a ruling that did not allow Netanyahu to cancel the primaries.

The Central Committee voted on 27 July in favor of giving Netanyahu eight reserved slots.

The party announced on 11 August that the Likud secretariat would be asked to approve three additional slots for Gideon Sa'ar, Israel Katz and Haim Katz. Haim Katz's slot was frozen by the Likud court the same day. The Likud secretariat approved the slots for Sa'ar and Israel Katz later that day. The Likud court voted to approve Haim Katz's slot the following day. Sitting MK Tally Gotliv was critical of the decision. The reserved slots are reportedly a way for Netanyahu to dilute the strength of certain Likud members, such as Gotliv, Shlomo Karhi and May Golan, who are popular with the party's political base, but would be "less appealing to moderate right-wing and swing voters" during the general election.

Netanyahu ultimately selected nine slots on the list.

Regional district slots On 4 August, the Likud court overturned a Central Committee vote from the previous week that would have allowed incumbent lawmakers and ministers to run for regional district spots. By returning those slots exclusively to political newcomers, the ruling eliminated a critical safety net for sitting MKs, making it significantly harder for them to secure realistic, winnable positions on the electoral list.

The Tel Aviv District Court rejected the appeal of Likud MK Afif Abed on 10 August. Abed stated that he would appeal the result. Abed petitioned the High Court of Justice on 12 August, though the judges who heard the case were sceptical of intervening in the decision of an internal party court, with Abed withdrawing the appeal after arguments were heard. The appeal was formally dismissed after the hearing, with the party court's ruling remaining in place.

Withdrawals On 13 August, Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo withdrew from the primary in protest of the decision. It was also reported the same day that several Likud MKs were considering defecting to the newly-founded Unity party of Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, themselves former Likud ministers and MKs. On 14 August, MKs Tsega Melaku and Moshe Passal announced they will not run in the primary.

Process Party members can vote for different types of seats; all registered party voters can vote for the national list. Regional seats are voted on according to member's geographic location, while there are additional seats set aside for representation, in addition to seats that are reserved for Netanyahu to select.

Voters were able to vote for 12 candidates on the national list, in addition to one candidate in their region.

The regional seats include 12 seats in "Jerusalem, West Bank and Shfela" as well as 10 seats for "Dan and Tel Aviv", four seats "in the Negev", five seats "in the Galilee and valleys", six seats for "the coastal plain", six seats "for "regional councils" and two seats allocated for "the Haifa district." The representation seats include individual seats set aside for young people, immigrants, non-Jews, those with disabilities, and a seat for women who are new to the party.

107 polling sites were open during the election. It is anticipated that the finalized positions on the party's list will shift, due to Netanyahu's reserved seats and district seat allocations.

Dates The primary was scheduled to be held on 28 July, but it was delayed by the party's Constitution Committee on 29 June until 4 August. The following month, the committee voted to postpone the primary until 17 August.

Candidates 40 candidates competed for national seats, while 84 candidates ran for either the reserved slots or regional positions.

Candidates for the national list The list of national and regional seat candidates was released on 13 August.

Netanyahu-selected seats Israel Katz Gideon Sa'ar Haim Katz Michel Buskila Talik Gvili Yaakov Bardugo Elisha Madan David Peter Eli Goldschmidt Itzik Bonzel

A reserved slot was offered to Ofer Winter, but he declined it and formed his own party, Amcha Yisrael.

Oren Dobronsky was given a reserved seat, but he declined it the day before the close of electoral lists.

Amir Avivi was given a reserved seat, but he declined it.

Polls Walla / Tel Aviv UniversityAgam Institute / Jerusalem PostElector / DRIDate6 January 2026May 2026May 2026Sample1,223 Likud members1,097 active Likud members~1,189 Likud members#1Tally GotlivTally GotlivAmir Ohana#2Amir OhanaAmir OhanaTally Gotliv#3Moshe SaadaMoshe SaadaAlmog Cohen#4Almog CohenEli CohenEli Cohen#5Israel KatzBoaz BismuthBoaz Bismuth#6Boaz BismuthAmichai ChikliMoshe Saada#7Eli CohenIsrael KatzYariv Levin#8Amichai ChikliMiri RegevAmichai Chikli#9Miri RegevYariv LevinOfir Katz#10May Golan—Miri Regev#11Yariv Levin——#12Nir Barkat——#13Yoav Kisch——

Conduct Golan and MK Amit Halevi issued complaints against the Likud Central Election Committee and called for the vote count to be ended at the polling location in Yeroham, claiming that there were "repeated incidents of erasures, alterations, and vote markings" that did not match.

The party did not extend voting hours in the primary, as it had done in previous elections.

Minister Gila Gamliel could lose her high-ranking slot on the Likud list to MK Eti Atiya, with Gamliel's position shifting from the 25th slot to the 35th, following a recount. Gamliel accused Haim Katz, with whom Atiya is allied, of attempting to "steal the vote." Gamliel submitted a police complaint after the party announced that it would hold a recount, following her appeal to the party's internal court.

Results Turnout was reported to be 53%, with 76,068 party members voting. This marked a five per cent decrease compared to the previous primary. Naama Lazimi, an MK with the opposition party The Democrats, noted her candidacy in her own party's primary earned her more votes than the total votes cast in the Likud primary.

Ministers who are expected to lose their seats in the upcoming election include Nir Barkat, Zeev Elkin, Gila Gamliel, May Golan, Idit Silman and Avi Dichter. MKs who are likely to lose their seats include Amit Halevi, Avihai Boaron, Hanoch Milwidsky, Ariel Kallner and Nissim Vaturi.

According to columnist Gil Hoffman, the primary demonstrated that Netanyahu has no powerful competitors within the party.

The following Likud primary results were reported on 18 August 2026, with a final count on 30 August altering the order for several candidates, including Eti Atiya and Gila Gamliel.

List No. Determination method Selected candidate Votes 1 Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu N/A 2 National list Eli Cohen 46,370 3 Party leader's reservation TBD N/A 4 Party leader's reservation Israel Katz N/A 5 Party leader's reservation Gideon Sa'ar N/A 6 National list Amir Ohana 43,259 7 National list Yariv Levin 41,765 8 National list — women's guarantee Miri Regev 38,228 9 Party leader's reservation TBD N/A 10 National list Ofir Katz 35,188 11 Party leader's reservation Oren Dobronsky N/A 12 National list Yoav Kisch 33,677 13 National list Miki Zohar 33,387 14 National list Almog Cohen 28,998 15 Party leader's reservation TBD N/A 16 National list Amichai Chikli 28,544 17 National list Dudi Amsalem 27,787 18 Party leader's reservation Haim Katz N/A 19 National list Moshe Saada 27,665 20 National list — women's guarantee Tally Gotliv 25,918 21 National list Shlomo Karhi 24,383 22 National list Boaz Bismuth 24,283 23 National list David Bitan 24,256 24 National list Nir Barkat 23,281 25 National list — women's guarantee Gila Gamliel 22,087 26 Party leader's reservation TBD N/A 27 Jerusalem/Judea-Samaria/Shephelah district Erez Tadmor 11,086 28 Tel Aviv district Shlomo Lerner 5,033 29 Party leader's reservation TBD N/A 30 Negev district Moshe Peretz 4,835 31 Galilee & Valleys district Shuki Ohana 6,185 32 National list Ze'ev Elkin 23,025 33 National list Amit Halevi 21,944 34 New-woman representation Keren Atias Boublil 7,478 35 Regional Councils district Sharon Saada 2,312 36 Coastal Plain district Efi Nave 2,606 37 National list Eti Atiya 21,663 38 National list Avihai Boaron 21,612 39 Youth representation Netanel Ohayon 4,370 40 National list — women's guarantee May Golan 19,332 41 National list Hanoch Milwidsky 19,545 42 Non-Jewish representation Mula Mula 4,115 43 Haifa district Rubin Tzviel 4,047 44 New Immigrant representation Gavra (Gabi) Worku 3,159 45 National list Keti Shitrit 18,099 46 Disability representation Alex Fridman 1,384

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