Likud has announced that Prime Minister Netanyahu will use two of his remaining slots on the party’s Knesset slate for Talik Gvili and Elisha Madame.
Gvili is the mother of slain police officer Ran Gvili, whose body was abducted into Gaza on October 7 and remained there for more than 800 days until it was located by the IDF and returned to Israel for burial. He was the very last Israeli captive held by terror groups in Gaza.
The party's statement read: 'Throughout the journey, Tali and the Gvili family demonstrated extraordinary strength, deep faith and unwavering determination even in the most difficult moments. Tali has deeply touched the hearts of Israelis and many people around the world. Tali, a torch lighter, is a symbol of strength, dedication and commitment to the State of Israel.'
Madan, meanwhile, is the founder of the West Bank settlement of Avigayil in the South Hebron Hills and an IDF reservist who lost both his legs in a booby-trapped tunnel next to a mosque in the Beit Hanoun area in Gaza, in an attack which killed four other soldiers.
They will join Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Likud Central Committee chairman Haim Katz on the slate. Entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky was also announced as a candidate but said on Monday night that he would not be accepting his place and instead intends to serve as a professional minister if Likud forms next government.
It comes after Netanyahu significantly expanded his control of the Likud slate in July, when the party’s Central Committee boosted his number of reserved slots from three to eight, giving him the ability to appoint up to a third of its candidates.
He now controls the 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 15th, 18th, 26th and 29th spots on the list.
Since announcing Gvili and Madan’s candidacies, the faction has confirmed that Netanyahu has used his remaining slots for Channel 14 pundit Jacob Bardugo, former Labor MK Eli Goldschmidt, the prime minister’s former lawyer David Peter, and retired Brigadier General Amir Avivi.
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