A senior Likud official said during talks this week that the party has not ruled out reserving a slot for Bezalel Smotrich on the Likud slate.
Likud has held talks in recent days with senior coalition figures about possible alliances within the right-wing bloc and the need to prevent votes from being lost among parties running to Likud’s right.
Until now, Likud had focused on bringing together Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party.
That strategy, however, now appears to be changing, and a merger with Ben-Gvir is no longer considered likely because Smotrich alienates some of Ben-Gvir’s voters, while Ben-Gvir alienates some of Smotrich’s supporters.
Meanwhile, the religious-Zionist community, particularly residents of the West Bank, has consistently supported Likud in large numbers.
In the most recent election, approximately 20% of voters in the West Bank cast their ballots for Likud, according to data from the Yesha Council. That made Likud the second-largest party in the region, behind the Religious Zionist Party.
Likud aims to ensure religious-Zionist votes
Likud officials therefore believe that adding Smotrich to the party’s slate could ensure that religious-Zionist votes are not lost if his party fails to cross the electoral threshold. A significant portion of Smotrich’s achievements in the West Bank were made possible through cooperation with Likud Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The discussions come amid controversy surrounding Likud’s primary and the reserved slots on the ruling party’s electoral slate.
Reports this week said Likud was working on a proposal that would give Prime Minister and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu 10 reserved slots on the party’s Knesset slate. Nine would be placed among the first 30 spots, with an additional reserved slot at No. 35.
Under the emerging proposal, which Maariv reported Monday morning, Netanyahu’s reserved slots would be at Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, and 29, with an additional reserved slot at No. 35.
Likud officials emphasized, however, that last-minute changes could still be made before the proposal receives final approval.
Likud losing ground to Eisenkot
The party is also concerned about its performance in the polls, which show Likud losing ground to Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party.
Channel 13’s weekly poll, published Wednesday, showed a slight reversal, with Eisenkot’s Yashar! overtaking Likud. The parties received 23 and 22 seats, respectively.
In a Channel 13 poll conducted the previous week, Netanyahu led Eisenkot by only one seat.
Naftali Bennett’s party also fell by two seats from the previous poll, dropping to 15. The alliance between Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper, announced the previous day, failed to cross the electoral threshold.
The poll also showed Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman, receiving 10 seats, as did the Democrats, led by Yair Golan.
The Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, along with Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, each received eight seats.
Hadash-Ta’al received six seats. Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party received five seats, as did Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am.
The Hendel-Tropper alliance, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, and the Balad party also failed to cross the electoral threshold.