Hours after former minister Avi Dichter appealed to the Supreme Court over the District Court’s decision to freeze the recount in Likud’s primaries, the Supreme Court on Tuesday evening accepted Dichter’s appeal and order the recount to resume.

The decision means that the duel between Dichter and MK Tzipi Hotovely over the 20th spot on the Likud’s Knesset list continues.

On Monday, Hotovely won her appeal to the Tel Aviv District Court against an earlier decision by the Likud Court’s to hold a recount. 

Hotovely’s appeal came after the Likud court ruled on Friday that a recount of all the ballots in the primaries should be held Monday morning. 

The court admitted that recounting all the ballots would open a “Pandora’s Box” and is an embarrassment to the Likud, but also noted that there was no other choice.

Hotovely had won her appeal when 57% of the votes had been recounted, and now that recount will resume, following the Supreme Court’s decision.

Echoing her remarks from Saturday night, Hotovely’s Sunday evening appeal argued that the Likud Court’s decision was given without authority. 

Her petition came across as rather strange given that two weeks ago, when Hotovely was in the 26th spot, she actively pursued a recount, arguing for the Likud Court to “do whatever it takes for justice to prevail.”

However, last week the Likud Election Commission bumped Hotovely up to the much more realistic 20th spot, explaining her change of heart.