Netanyahu-Sa’ar showdown at Likud event tonight

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud challenger Gideon Sa’ar are both expected to address Sunday night’s Likud Central Committee meeting in the first clash between the two candidates. Sa’ar said on Saturday night that he had not yet made a final decision on whether to speak at the event. A Likud leadership race is expected to be held as early as December 22 if no breakthrough is reached by the midnight Wednesday deadline for an MK to obtain the support of a majority of the Knesset to form a government and prevent an election. The head of the Central Committee, MK Haim Katz, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday night that Netanyahu could speak for as long as he wants at the event, while Sa’ar would be limited to only three minutes, like any other MK or activist. The committee will be voting to cancel the primary for the Likud’s Knesset slate and keep the party’s list from the previous two elections if a Knesset race is held. If the proposal passes, the committee will also vote to support having up to four ministers from each party automatically quit the Knesset and be replaced the next name on the party’s list. Passing the bill would allow more candidates on the Likud list to enter the Knesset if the party enters the government. The committee will not vote on anything related to the Likud leadership. Attempts to have the committee vote on initiating a leadership primary or canceling it were both rejected because there is still time for an agreement with Blue and White that would prevent a third election in under a year. An effort that Netanyahu began on Thursday to hold direct elections for prime minister instead of electing a new Knesset was seen in Likud as an attempt by Netanyahu to prevent the primary race with Sa’ar. Likud MK Yoav Kisch endorsed Sa’ar on Saturday night. The only other MK who has endorsed him is Michal Shir. “The rule of the Right is in danger,” Kisch wrote on Facebook on Saturday night. “I trust Gideon Sa’ar to lead the nationalist camp to victory over the Left.”
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