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Sunday, August 16, 2026
Amid reported feud, Netanyahu said to refuse meeting with Barkat ahead of Likud primary
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with Economy Minister Nir Barkat ahead of tomorrow’s Likud primary, stating that “there is no need,” Channel 13 reports.
Netanyahu is reportedly looking to settle scores with internal critics such as Barkat during the primary.
Last week, Channel 12 reported that Barkat co-led a failed attempt to replace Netanyahu through a no-confidence vote immediately following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. The network claimed that Barkat led the effort with fellow Likud lawmaker Yuli Edelstein, who left the ruling party last month to form the rival Unity party along with fellow Likud rebel Gilad Erdan.
The reported 2023 move, had the pair pulled it off, would have allowed for a constructive vote of no confidence, meaning the Knesset would vote to install a new prime minister without needing to dissolve parliament and call an early election.
However, Likud lawmakers were unable to agree on who would lead in his place, while Netanyahu caught wind of the intraparty coup attempt and coordinated with select Likud MKs and ministers to put a stop to it.
The Times of Israel Community.