Netanyahu misses party's 9:00 p.m. deadline to publish Likud slate, says will submit by Tues. a.m.

Likud's top internal court ruled that the party must deliver the proposal for reserved slots to members of its secretariat by 9:00 p.m. Monday, but the deadline passed without Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud's chairman, publishing the list. The Likud legal adviser will now be required to explain why a secret ballot should not be held without collecting signatures. The dispute comes against the backdrop of MK David Bitan's petition challenging the reserved slot for Defense Minister Israel Katz. Netanyahu had yet to publish either the list of candidates for reserved slots or the proposed resolution concerning them, as required by the court, by the time the deadline passed. Regarding publication of the list, the court noted that Likud legal adviser Ilan Bombach had said the previous ruling could not be implemented as written because of the political situation.