Current sectionIsrael NewsIsrael Elections 2026Senior Likud officials say the Iran escalation is being used as a pretext for a move Netanyahu wanted anyway: replacing the primary with his own control over the party listShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeMichael Hauser Tov07:16 PM • July 19 2026 IDTPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Likud primary could be canceled if tensions in the Middle East further escalate, in the latest move by the prime minister to tighten his control over the party's Knesset slate.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:LikudIsraeli politicsIsrael - IranKnessetBenjamin NetanyahuCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Live UpdatesMamdani Vs. NetanyahuSettler ViolenceU.S.-IranBroadcasting BillIsrael ElectionsHélène CixousHaQuizHaaretz PodcastDefense Minister Orders IDF to Remove Anti-gov't Activist From Reserve ServiceIsrael Reclassifies Nile Crocodile to Facilitate Ben-Gvir's 'Alligator Alcatraz'Israeli Ministers Join Far-right March to Gaza Calling to Resettle StripIran Weaponizes the Middle East's Water Supply to Gain Leverage Over the U.S.Pressured by Azerbaijan, Israel Drops Knesset Armenian Genocide Recognition VoteRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderThe Most Optimistic Israeli in Jerusalem Is Leaving the CountryNetanyahu's Biggest Challenger: Who Is Gadi Eisenkot and What Does He Stand For?As Ground Invasion Looms, U.S. and Iran Want Wild-card Israel Out of the Fight103 House Democrats Vote to Cut U.S. Aid to Israel in Landmark Symbolic VoteDemocrats Rejected U.S. Aid to Israel, and AIPAC Couldn't Stop Them