Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuFlash 90

In recordings that were obtained by the “Haboker Hazeh” (This Morning) show on Kan ReshetBet, Likud party members can be heard discussing their political prospects, after the cameras were turned off following the broadcast of the Prime Minister’s address to the Likud faction.

Referring to the decision of the Blue & White party to establish a commission of inquiry into the Submarine Affair, after party leader Benny Gantz promised he would do no such thing, MK Shlomo Karhi suggested, “Returning fire with all the parliamentary means at our hands,” and Environment Minister Gila Gamliel added, “I wonder if the period of time for presenting conclusions [from the inquiry] marks the run-up to the next round of elections.”

Likud MKs who are near the bottom of the party’s slate, and at risk of losing their seats if recent polls are anything to judge by, could be heard expressing their concerns in advance of elections. Other MKs have apparently already asked the Prime Minister to consider cancelling the party’s primaries, to which Netanyahu reportedly responded: “I hear what you’re saying, and the suggestion has a certain logic to it. I’ll think about it again if and when we reach that point.”

In the recordings, MK Kathrin Shitrit can also be heard, railing against those MKs who were not present at the launch of her Knesset lobby on the subject of suicide prevention. She promised that she would mobilize all her supporters in Beit Shemesh for Deputy-Minister Yoav Kish, who did turn up for the event. “Okay, I’ll see that Beit Shemesh gives all its votes to you,” she said. “I’ll make sure that happens – thank G-d I have a lot of support there.”