In the ever shifting electoral landscape, Knesset members and Likud candidates were caught by surprise when they discovered some last minute changes to their party's list, which will most likely lead to urgent appeals by party members to the Tel Aviv District Court to demand revisions.
David Bitan, a Likud candidate, told Arutz 7 that he was surprised to find that what he thought was the final Likud list to be changed. Bitan claims he is now embedded in 35th place, down two places on the list to make room for candidates from Yisrael Beytenu. He accused the Prime Minister of haphazardly deserting members of his own party to cater to those from Beytenu.
"We think that the change Bibi did not only hit us," said Bitan, referring to the party's candidates who were unexpectedly shifted around on the list, "but also Likud."
"According to the agreement with Yisrael Beyteinu, the relationship between the two parties is 27 to 15. These new changes actually changed the relationship in favor of Yisrael Beytenu, so that any election result will give them an advantage. If for example we will have 34 seats, Yisrael Beyteinu will have 13 MKs and Likud will have 21."
In his opinion, Netanyahu should not have been allowed to make the change himself, saying, "This is to the detriment of Likud. Netanyahu alone can not decide to change the locations on the list. We are an egalitarian movement, Bibi is not the owner of the party, he is perhaps the prime minister, but there are rules."
Bitan accused Netanyahu of abandoning Likud members, saying, "he should worry about us, he is our father. He made the changes and fled abroad, leaving us with no one to talk to."
Since the merger of the two parties, the newly formed Likud Beytenu has undergone some surprising shakeups, most notably the ousting of MK Danny Ayalon by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the Yisrael Beytenu party.