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.”

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Israel is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, according to these opponents of a ceasefire agreement now with Hezbollah.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

While the Lebanese foreign minister said Tuesday that he hopes an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal will be agreed upon by nightfall, there are loud voices in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own party who are throwing cold water on the idea of stopping the fight now against the Iranian terror proxy.

Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli stated, “The series of strikes on Hezbollah’s top brass and the ground moves have brought tremendous operational achievements. Under no circumstances should they be sold in exchange for quiet…. We have already learned firsthand what the interest rates are for buying quiet in the Middle Eastern bazaar.”

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter announced on X Monday night without going into details that “If the agreement with Lebanon is a ‘copy-paste’ of Resolution 1701 — I won’t support it.” He then said he would decide on his stance after hearing the details of the planned deal, which is supposed to be presented to the political-security cabinet towards evening Tuesday.

Several Likud backbenchers have expressed firm opposition to signing an agreement before Hezbollah suffers a much more serious, if not fatal, blow.

Calling it a “return to the approach of October 6,” MK Moshe Saada posted that, “Instead of reaching an overwhelming victory deal thanks to the achievements of the last few month…the State of Israel is the one deterred.”

“We do not have a mandate to keep the rocket threat alive and kicking,” he continued, “and we do not have a moral mandate to ask the residents of the north to return to their homes, when it’s clear to everyone that a large part of the Lebanese residents who will be allowed to return to their villages are actually terrorists who are just waiting for another chance.”

He pleaded with Netanyahu to instead “listen to the council heads, the residents of the north, and the majority of the country’s people who demand [Hezbollah’s] surrender and submission and not our capitulation.”

MK Dan Illouz agreed, writing on X, “Israel is seemingly choosing to retreat instead of leveraging tactical achievements into strategic ones.”

The proposed deal states that the Lebanese Army will take the IDF’s place in southern Lebanon within 60 days, yet, he pointed out, “This army is controlled by a government in which Hezbollah is a key component.”

He noted with contempt the recourses Israel has if Hezbollah returns to the south and rearms.

The international oversight body to be established will be “an empty vessel,” he said. “As if anyone in the world will lift a finger as a result of an [Israeli] complaint.”

An American letter of commitment stating that Israel will have freedom of action to actively deter Hezbollah if it breaks the agreement will be useless as well, he added, as previous presidents’ written promises to Israeli leaders were not honored by their successors.

If this deal is signed, he ended, “Hezbollah is still on its feet, ready to rebuild its strength [and] the next round is just a matter of time.”

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz talked tough upon meeting with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert Tuesday.

He demanded “effective enforcement from UNIFIL” of any agreement but also warned, “What was will no longer be. We will act against every threat, anytime and anywhere. Any house in southern Lebanon that is rebuilt and established as a terrorist base will be destroyed. Every rearmament and terrorist regrouping will be struck, every attempt to smuggle weapons will be thwarted and any threat to our forces or to Israeli citizens will be destroyed immediately.”

According to Channel 12’s Amit Segal, the deal is purposefully being brought to a vote only in the political-security cabinet, and not to the larger Cabinet as representing the government as a whole, or the Knesset, the people’s representatives, where the opposition is greater. The excuse given for doing this, he said in a post on Telegram, is that the deal is only a ceasefire agreement and not a political one.

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“It is the right of Jews to go up to this place and celebrate its liberation,” says National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Hundreds of Jews flocked to the Temple Mount Thursday morning in honor of Jerusalem Day, including a minister and several MKs.

Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee Yitzhak Wasserlauf (Otzma Yehudit) went to Judaism’s holiest site early in the morning. He was followed around 9:30 by three junior Likud parliamentarians, Ariel Kallner, Dan Illouz and Amit Halevy.

National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben-Gvir did not visit as yet, and may not at all, as his wife was seen alone there at 9:00 a.m. When he marked the new government’s ascension to power by walking on the Mount for only a few minutes in early January as a show of sovereignty in the face of Hamas threats of violence, it sparked a wave of condemnations from the Arab world and a meeting of the UN Security Council.

In a statement, Ben-Gvir said he was “happy to see the many thousands coming up to celebrate on the Temple Mount and all those coming to Jerusalem. The Temple Mount that was liberated on Jerusalem Day 56 years ago is the holiest place for Jews, it is the right of Jews to go up to this place and celebrate its liberation.”

The Temple Mount, along with all of eastern Jerusalem, was taken back from its Jordanian occupiers in 1967’s Six Day War. The traditional Flag March through the city that celebrates the Hebrew date of Israel’s capital being reunited will take place in the evening with tens of thousands of expected participants, but its route ends at the adjacent Western Wall.

The minister said he had instructed that visitors should enjoy smooth entry to the site, without the long waiting times that are normal on other days. The holy site was also reinforced with hundreds of extra police officers to ensure their safety, and thousands of security personnel have been deployed to the capital to protect the day’s festivities.

Palestinian terror organizations have warned as in years past that they would aggressively counter the “storming of Al-Aqsa,” which is how they typically describe any visits of Jewish tourists to the Mount.

Israel has also reportedly warned Hamas that it would retaliate powerfully to any rocket fire emanating from the Gaza Strip during the day’s festivities. In 2021, the terror group launched several rockets at the capital on Jerusalem Day, setting off the 11-day Operation Guardian of the Walls, in which the IDF destroyed a large portion of the terrorist infrastructure in the coastal enclave.

An internal controversy arose in the Likud after Finance Committee chairman MK David Bitan told Army Radio following his colleagues’ visit that “it’s inappropriate for MKs from the Likud to go up to the Temple Mount, this is not what should be done. People have become extremists.”

Illouz caustically responded to Bitan’s charge, saying, “It’s impossible to accept a claim that the presence of Jews in a particular place, and certainly the holiest site of the Jewish people, is an act of extremism.”

A right-wing faction within the party, Dror B’Likud, pointed out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called the Temple Mount “the bedrock of our existence” and had boasted of the fact that under his tenure, the number of Jews ascending the Mount had doubled and even tripled.

The group said Bitan was shifting to the Left “in an attempt to get out of the legal noose” around his neck. Bitan is currently standing trial after being indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and tax offenses.

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“We have no problem clarifying to the U.S. in every conversation in which we are invited that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people,” said Likud MK Dan Illouz.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The Biden administration summoned Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog over a recently passed law repealing the 2005 disengagement from Samaria, in an unusual diplomatic move signaling major disapproval from Washington.

During a meeting with Herzog at the State Department, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman expressed “concern regarding legislation… rescinding important aspects of the 2005 Disengagement Law, including the prohibition on establishing settlements in the northern West Bank,” according to a statement from her office.

Sherman also discussed “the importance of all parties refraining from actions or rhetoric that could further inflame tensions leading into the Ramadan, Passover, and Easter holidays.”

Herzog’s summoning came after blistering statements regarding the legislation from State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. He said the Biden administration was “extremely troubled” by the “particularly provocative” legislation, and that Israel had violated long term understandings between Washington and Jerusalem.

“We have no problem clarifying to the United States in every conversation in which we are invited that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people,” wrote Likud MK Dan Illouz, a supporter of the bill, on Twitter.

“They are welcome to invite us to clarify this at any time. We are available and happy to do so.”

National Unity MK and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot said in a radio interview on Wednesday morning with 103FM that “the last summoning of an Israeli ambassador for clarification was many, many years ago, as far as I know.”

He said that Herzog’s summoning “indicates the magnitude of the government’s violation as perceived by the Americans” and that “it will take a very long time to rebuild and restore the damage to the relations and trust between Israel and the U.S.”

In 2005, the Disengagement Law saw 21 Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip evacuated, along with the dismantling of the towns of Sa-Nur, Homesh, Ganim and Kadim in northern Samaria.

On Tuesday, the Knesset voted 31-18 to repeal specific passages of the Disengagement Law, which barred Israelis from those four communities in Samaria. The vote has no effect on Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza.

While repealing of the law technically paves the way for settlers to return to those communities in Samaria, it may be that the legislation will serve as a symbolic victory for its proponents, without affecting the reality on the ground.

The northern Samaria communities will remain closed military zones, and IDF approval would be needed in order for resettlement and rebuilding to occur – something which currently is not on the agenda and has no public timeframe.

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Freshman MK Dan Illouz toured the strategic region with the Sovereignty Movement, which is demanding that Israeli law be applied there first.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Likud MK Dan Illouz is forming a lobby in the Knesset for the application of Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, with an eye to passing the law as soon as possible, he told a group led by the Sovereignty Movement and Israel Forever during a tour of the strategic region Sunday.

“We have a real right-wing government with a consensus about applying sovereignty over Judea and Samaria,” he said. “There are no more excuses, we must proceed. If at the end of our term we haven’t managed to do it, it will be a bitter regret for generations.”

Speaking for his co-head, MK Yosef Taieb of Shas, he added, “We decided to start with the Jordan Valley because it’s the area that receives the most consensus among the Israeli public. So we’ll start here and with God’s help, we’ll also get to [the rest of] Judea and Samaria.”

Former Likud legislator and current National Unity MK Sharren Haskell, who spoke briefly to the sovereignty supporters, agreed with Illouz’s assessment, saying, “There is no opposition versus coalition when it comes to the Valley…. It’s part of our heritage and religion and we have to take care of it.”

Standing next to the site on the Jordan River where Christians believe that Jesus was baptized, with dozens of tourists repeating the religious ritual for themselves, she noted, “If it stays under our control it will always be open to everyone.”

No Israeli government should give control over any part of it to any other group, she added, because then “we’ll lose it.” Having worked towards “Jordan Valley sovereignty first” for the past seven years in the Knesset, she said, she hoped that a bipartisan push would soon get the job done.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019 promised to annex the Jordan Valley when negotiating the Covid-19-induced unity government with then-Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, who had also stated publicly his support for the idea, based on it being vital to Israel’s security. In the event, no such bill ever made it to the floor of the Knesset.

Former Deputy Chief of Staff and former head of the National Security Council, Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, who also once had command over the region, was the tour leader. Facing east at a lookout point that showed the spread of the valley below, he listed the three basic reasons why the region “must be ours.”

“Israel is only 40 miles wide,” he said. “The Jordan Valley gives us a minimum strategic depth. Second, it’s critical for the defense of our eastern border. The Jordanians are vulnerable, even if they don’t like to hear it – their army faces east, towards Iraq, not towards us – and we have saved them twice already.”

According to Dayan, they want Israel to control the area even if they don’t say so. “We’re their safety belt,” he said.

“There are only five passes through these mountains where large numbers of forces can get though easily [to the center of Israel] and we need to control all of them,” he continued. “We must control this area against terrorism too. If we allow any Hamas entry, they will let Iran in, and they’ll chip away at us.”

Comparing the region to the settlements ringing the Gaza Strip that are Israel’s forward line against the Palestinian terrorists to the southeast, he said, “The Jordan Valley is the protective envelope of Israel.”

Panel discussion

A panel   livestreamed by Israel National News took place in the afternoon under the title “Sovereignty, from Vision to Reality,” with politicians and activists from both sides of the political spectrum speaking about the legal, strategic, historic and practical reasons for applying sovereignty first to the region.

Among them was Jordan Valley Regional Council head David Elhayani, who said that first and foremost it is “the implementation of our Zionist spirit to settle the land.” However, declaring sovereignty will also “prevent a Palestinian state from ever forming.”

Such a state, he said, “is an existential threat to the Jewish people, not just to Israel…. That is its significance. There already is a Palestinian state – Jordan. They are all invited to go there,” he said. “This government has a moral responsibility  to declare sovereignty. It’s a lifeline for our existence.”

Group leaders Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover stated their belief that it was the non-application of Israeli law to the Gush Katif and northern Samaria regions that enabled the “easy destruction” of their settlements in 2005’s Disengagement, which the right wing in Israel considers a tragedy that cannot be repeated.

The time was now, they said, because “it’s ours, the longer we hesitate the more the Arabs keep grabbing, it’s in the national consensus, there is so much land it will let people live near the center of the country [where most want to be] and there is no demographic problem,” as there are few Arabs in the Valley.

Dayan had a slightly different take on sovereignty.

“We have full sovereignty now in the Negev, and in the Galilee,” he pointed out.  Referring to the current state of lawlessness in both areas, with rampant Bedouin and Arab crime, he asked rhetorically, “Are we happy with what’s going on there?”

Sovereignty is more than a declaration, it needs to be implemented with practical steps, he said.

The first had to be setting the border of the region at its maximum, which includes all the ridges surrounding the valley.

“We need 60,000 people living here, not 6,000, with or without sovereignty. So it can’t all be agriculture, although it’s very important to have a hold on the land. We need hotels, visitors’ centers, attractions,” he listed, noting that there isn’t a single one of those items in the Valley to bring tourists in large numbers who aren’t Christians going to their “third holiest site” in the land.

His other ideas included establishing an Authority for the Development and Promotion of the Jordan Valley within the Prime Minister’s Office, buying up land that is not already owned by the state, and developing infrastructure such as more and better roads to the region.

The Jordan Valley constitutes about 30% of Judea and Samaria. Some 90% of it is listed as Area C, under total Israel civilian and military control.

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