Israel’s Labor party central committee meets Sunday to decide on the date of primary elections for a new party leader, reported Haaretz newspaper.
Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who has declared his intention to run, discounted rumors that he would withdraw in favor of Haim Ramon.
He told the paper that "I am running all the way to the end."
The date now being considered for the primaries is September 4 and it is being proposed that eligibility to vote should be restricted to May 1, according to Haaretz.
Supporters of Ben-Eliezer would like to see that eligibility extended further as they are busy recruiting more supporters for their candidate, the daily said.
Backers of Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg are also preparing for the possibility that the primaries will be postponed and not held this year.
One of the options they are considering is to introduce a proposal for holding the primaries in two months, said the paper.
Those supporting Haim Ramon said that they will support any recommendation to postpone the primaries beyond September 4 because they recognize that their candidate needs the time to consolidate his support base.
In another development, Labor Party activists confessed to spreading a false rumor Saturday that Burg had been seriously injured in an assassination attempt, the Army Radio reported Sunday, cited by The Jerusalem Post newspaper.
The Shin Bet security service and the chief Knesset security officer initiated an investigation Sunday, after the activists - from the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon – confessed to sending the false message to several party activists via their mobile phones, said the radio.
The activists apologized to Burg, saying the assassination message was a joke which got out of hand – Albawaba.com
