Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering reserving multiple positions on the Likud party's Knesset list, including top-ten slots for Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Netanyahu also plans to reserve a seat lower on the list for Haim Bibas, Chairman of the Center for Local Government and Mayor of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut.

Netanyahu is advocating for reserving eight or nine total candidates on the Likud party's Knesset list, with three of those positions intended for the top ten. He recently approached IDF soldier Ari Spitz with an offer to join the Likud party list. Spitz was severely wounded while serving in the Gaza Strip and lost both legs and an arm. He lit a torch at the 2026 Independence Day ceremony.

The Likud party is scheduled to convene on Wednesday to discuss its future, with Prime Minister Netanyahu, party secretary Haim Katz, and other party institution members in attendance. This meeting will include a debate about potentially replacing the current primary system with a selection committee. In closed conversations, Netanyahu stated there is broad agreement within Likud on the need to refresh and renew the party list.

Netanyahu expressed in closed discussions that there is no single candidate capable of independently attracting voters. He conveyed that a large number of new candidates are necessary to politically reshape Likud and demonstrate renewal and upgrading within the party. However, the option of canceling the primaries is considered less likely due to legal and internal party obstacles.

Netivot Mayor Yehiel Zohar supports the concept of specific reserved slots on the Likud list. Zohar stated that a limited number of reserved spots, if approved by Likud institutions, can be a legitimate tool for making targeted adjustments to balance and diversify the list. "The primary system is not a technical tool but the beating heart of the Likud movement," Zohar said. He added, "It is the only mechanism that ensures proper representation for districts, women, the periphery, and entire sectors in Israeli society who see Likud as their political home."