Talik Gvili, mother of fallen soldier Ran Gvili, will receive a reserved place on the Likud list, the party announced on Tuesday, as an internal battle continued over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remaining reserved slots and the process for approving them.
Likud also announced it would reserve a slot for Elisha Medan, a reservist who was seriously wounded in the Gaza Strip and lost both legs.
The Likud court is set to convene at 11 a.m. on Tuesday to determine whether the party secretariat's vote on the reserved slots Netanyahu is seeking will be secret or open.
The dispute centers on the approval process and the ability of secretariat members to influence the final list Netanyahu will bring before them just hours before the deadline for submitting candidate lists.
Likud officials estimate that an in-person discussion by the secretariat could change the dynamic that has prevailed in recent years and lead to a compromise.
Netanyahu could secure approval for some of the reserved slots he wants, while a solution may also be found that would allow several MKs who were elected in the primaries but pushed into problematic positions to move higher on the list.
"The assumption is that once there is an in-person discussion in the secretariat, they will reach a compromise that will allow Netanyahu to reserve several places for worthy names, while also allowing several members who were elected to the national list to move higher on the list," Likud officials estimated.
Likud officials say 'flawed procedure has taken root' within party
Likud officials say that in recent years "a flawed procedure has taken root," under which secretariat decisions were sometimes approved by telephone.
According to them, this effectively prevented substantive discussion: Secretariat members did not convene together, did not hear the arguments for and against, and were not given an opportunity to persuade one another.
Following the court's intervention, an in-person discussion is now expected over the names Netanyahu seeks to place in reserved slots.
Under telephone approval, each secretariat member gives their position separately, sometimes in a conversation with a person who contacts them seeking their support for a particular proposal. In a joint meeting, members can raise objections, consult one another, and try to influence Netanyahu as well.
If candidates are presented whose appointments some members oppose, they will have time and space to try to organize opposition and change the proposal before it is brought to a vote.
For several MKs elected in the primaries but not positioned in what is considered a safe spot, the struggle has immediate personal significance.
Reserved slots in realistic positions could push candidates chosen by Likud members lower down the list, depending on their placement and the final structure of the slate.
Tuesday's hearing follows a confrontation that developed on Monday between Netanyahu and the party court after a petition by MK David Bitan. The court ordered the Likud chairman to publish his proposal for the reserved slots by 9 p.m. and warned that revealing the names close to the vote could be seen as an "improper fait accompli." Netanyahu did not publish the list by the deadline set by the court.
In previous rulings, the court has already recognized Netanyahu's authority to make reserved appointments and approved the placements of Gideon Sa'ar, Israel Katz and Haim Katz. This time, the hearing concerns the way the proposal will be brought before the secretariat for approval and the amount of time members will be given to review the names, consult and decide how to vote.
"The court creates the mechanisms. It does not determine who will be given a reserved slot and who will not," Likud officials said. "The secretariat decides that, but in a proper manner."
The court will also be required to decide how the vote will be conducted. If the names are published sufficiently in advance of the secretariat meeting, secretariat members will be able to decide whether the vote will be open or secret. Support from just 10% of all secretariat members is required to demand a secret ballot.
Open voting or secret ballots could affect outcome
The manner of the vote could affect the outcome. In an open vote, the party chairman and his associates will know how each secretariat member voted. In a secret ballot, those who object to a particular reserved appointment can vote against it without immediately confronting the party leadership.
Likud officials believe the joint meeting itself could resolve some of the disputes even before the vote.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's effort to complete his roster of reserved candidates is continuing. He entered the final day for submitting party lists with some of the places available to him still not finally filled.
Oren Dobronsky, whom Netanyahu had already announced he intended to place in a reserved slot, said he was giving up the place on the list and would prefer, if a government led by Netanyahu is formed, to be appointed as a professional minister responsible for artificial intelligence. Following his decision, Netanyahu was left with six reserved slots in realistic positions.
At the same time, several figures Netanyahu approached rejected his offer to join the list. The reasons vary, and in not every case is it known what ultimately drove the decision. In Dobronsky's case, one of the considerations involved in entering the Knesset was the need to relinquish his US citizenship.
He chose to give up the reserved slot and leave open the possibility of being appointed in the future to a professional government role if Netanyahu forms the next government.
The refusals make it harder for Netanyahu to achieve the effect he had sought through the reserved slots. A realistic position on the Likud list has long been a highly sought-after political asset, especially when the offer comes directly from Netanyahu.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.