Labor holds primary with dual peace-social slogan

Some 60,000 registered Labor members turn out Monday at 10 a.m. to elect the party’s Knesset list, as its leader Avi Gabbay fights to recover from single-digit ratings. The 44 challengers are topped by Itzik Shmuli, Shelly Yechimovitch, Amir Peretz, Staf Shaffir and Omar Bar-Lev. The computerized ballot is expected to yield results two hours after voting ends at 9 p.m. Labor stood at 24 mandates when Gabbay took over from Yitzhak Herzog and has plummeted ever since, most sharply since the new leader ousted Tzipi Livni’s party as partner. Labor has also fallen back under the impact of the new Hosan Le’Yisrael party.

In a last-minute interview, the Labor leader offered a platform based on two states for resolving the Israel-Palestinian dispute which, he said would also release substantial funds for improving living standards for the low-income classes.