Likud court approves Netanyahu's reserved Knesset slot for Haim Katz after freezing vote

The Likud’s top internal court approved a reserved place on the party’s Knesset slate for senior minister Haim Katz on Wednesday, one day after temporarily blocking a vote on the move.

The three-judge panel approved Katz’s placement by a majority, while unanimously approving reserved slots for Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

The court found that the party’s election rules allow the Likud chairman to use his allotted slots to shape a slate representing the party’s different constituencies.

The interim order was issued during Tuesday’s Likud Secretariat vote because Haim Katz had already registered for the August 17 primaries and begun campaigning.

The court said in its final decision that reserving a place for a veteran lawmaker who had intended to compete in the primary was less disruptive to other candidates than using the slot for an outside contender.