Israeli election update: Netanyahu's iron grip on the Likud primary

In a recent Israeli election update, Haaretz senior analyst Esther Solomon explained on the Haaretz Election Podcast how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asserting his dominance over his political party, the Likud. Netenyahu attempted to cancel the Likud primaries entirely but instead opted to appoint candidates for nine key spots on the party's top list.

One of the appointed candidates is Oren Dobronsky, a Silicon Valley-based tech entrepreneur with no political background, who gained recent attention for disparaging remarks about former U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Solomon, Netanyahu's intention is clear: "This is no longer about the Likud party. This is about me. This is about Netanyahu.

I own this party. I control it. You're either in or you're out, and I control every single aspect of it." The podcast also covered other stories, including expat Israelis' efforts to travel for voting, opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot's proposal for a minority government, and personal accounts from Haaretz correspondent Judy Maltz during her travels across Israeli cities ahead of the election.