Likud Primary Results: Ze'ev Elkin's Knesset Seat Challenge

Minister Ze'ev Elkin addressed the results of Likud's primary elections on Wednesday, which placed him at number 32 on the party's list for the upcoming Knesset, a position widely considered too low to secure a parliamentary seat.

Elkin opened his statement by clarifying several points for commentators discussing his results online. He emphasized that for the past year and a half, he had consistently stated in interviews that he would compete in Likud's primaries and that the reserved spot the party owed him under their agreement would go to Gideon Sa'ar instead.

"This was a decision we made together, after our first few months in government, to allow Gideon to focus one hundred percent of his time on his role as Foreign Minister during a very challenging period diplomatically, and on his role as a member of the security cabinet, which met almost every evening at the Prime Minister's residence", Elkin explained. "This decision was correct for the national interest of the State of Israel. I was a full partner in it and I don't regret it for a moment".

He praised Sa'ar for showing "true friendship" and helping him "with all his strength" during the primary process, adding: "I deeply appreciate him for that, and no one will succeed in creating conflict between us".

Elkin then explained his actual performance in the primaries: "I received nearly 23,000 votes in these primaries and reached number 17 on the national list, ahead of several sitting ministers and only 239 votes short of 16th place, a result no one believed I could achieve".

He expressed pride in the outcome, noting that 30% of voters supported him, and thanked Sa'ar along with many longtime and new friends who mobilized to help. He also personally thanked each of the nearly 23,000 party members who placed their trust in him.

"Number 17 on the national list should have brought me to number 25 on the Knesset list, but because of the guaranteed representation for women, which I support and wholeheartedly wish success to Minister Sarah Gila Gamliel, and other components of the system, I am supposed to be placed only at number 32 according to the primary regulations", he said.

While acknowledging this was "of course disappointing", Elkin said he respects the rules that were established in advance. He pledged to continue working with full force for Likud's victory in the elections and expressed hope that not only he, but also valued colleagues behind him on the list, would find their place in the next Knesset, as has happened in previous election campaigns.

Likud Primary Booths (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Elkin stressed that even if he had not secured a spot on the list at all, he would still work with full force for a Likud and right-wing victory in the elections, "because it is critical to the security and future of the state". He noted that he had said this in a Channel 14 interview on the morning of the primaries and stands behind that statement now that the primaries are over. As a cabinet member over the past two years, he said, he understands well how important it is that "our activist security policy continues in the coming years as well".

Addressing those who have asked in recent days whether he regrets the decision to join the government and return to Likud, Elkin's answer was unequivocal: "I don't regret it for a moment". He acknowledged that both his faction and he personally received various offers at the time to prevent them from joining the government, offers that could have guaranteed his place in the next Knesset. "I chose to go with what I believe in ideologically as a right-winger and to take a political risk, and even today I would make exactly the same decision, which I am proud of".

In closing, he reflected on the broader impact of his choice: "Our joining saved the right-wing government from falling and gave it another two years to function in political quiet. In those two years, the government led two dramatic wars against Iran, which set back the Iranian nuclear threat and missile threat by years, created security zones in Syria and Lebanon, and established more than one hundred settlements in Judea and Samaria".

Without their joining, Elkin argued, none of this would have happened because the government would have fallen. "These were perhaps the most meaningful two years in my public life, I've been in the Knesset for more than 20 years, and I had the privilege of taking an active part in all these historic decisions as a cabinet member. So my answer to all the critics: No, I don't regret for a moment the decision we made two years ago! With G-d's help, together we will win!".