Outgoing MK claims Likud wanted to oust Netanyahu after Oct. 7

Ex-MK Dan Illouz described intense internal pressure to replace Israel’s prime minister during the early days of the war.

By World Israel News Staff

A former Likud lawmaker has claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came close to being ousted by members of his own party in the weeks following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacres, alleging that a substantial portion of the parliamentary faction supported replacing him while the war was already underway.

Dan Illouz, who recently resigned from the Knesset, made the remarks in an interview with Hebrew-language news outlet Ynet published Thursday.

“I think at least one-third of the Likud faction knew the right thing for the State of Israel was for the leadership to change,” Illouz said.

“Not through elections, because we were in the middle of an intense war, but through a vote of no confidence. The only reason it didn’t happen wasn’t because there weren’t enough numbers. It was because they argued over who should go first, who should be the person to replace him.”

Throughout the war, senior party figures have consistently projected unity around Netanyahu and denied reports of any organized effort to remove him from office.

According to Illouz, however, dissatisfaction inside the party was widespread immediately after the terror invasion, which killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

“At the time, after Oct. 7, and they’re welcome to deny it as much as they want, at least one-third of [Likud] was prepared for a dramatic move,” he said.

Despite his criticism of Netanyahu, Illouz stopped short of placing sole responsibility for the events of October 7 on the prime minister, instead arguing that multiple institutions shared blame for the failures that allowed the attack to occur.

“I think the army bears responsibility. I think the Shin Bet bears responsibility. And I think the government of Israel also bears responsibility,” he said.

Illouz also emphasized that his criticism is directed at Netanyahu’s leadership rather than at the Likud movement itself.

“I would very much like Likud to be part of the government,” he said, “but not with Netanyahu as prime minister.”