Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would vote in Monday’s Likud Party primary for a Knesset slate that would prevent opposition leaders from forming a government coalition dependent on Arab parties.
“I will vote tomorrow in the Likud primary for a winning list that will ensure that [Yashar Party leader Gadi] Eisenkot and [The Democrats Party head] Yair Golan do not form a narrow government with the Arab parties, as they promised,” the prime minister wrote in Hebrew.
Netanyahu said he trusted Likud members to choose their representatives “according to your own judgment,” adding that he was not intervening in the composition of the national list. He wished all the candidates success.
The primary follows a Likud Central Committee decision last month granting Netanyahu the authority to fill eight of the first 30 slots on the party’s Knesset candidates list. The party subsequently reserved spots for three more candidates, all incumbent ministers.
More than 140,000 Likud members are eligible to vote in Monday’s primary. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
The general election is scheduled for Oct. 27.
