Departing Likud MK says party has ‘failed,’ reveals third of party MKs sought to remove PM after Oct. 7

Likud MK Dan Illouz says that following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, about a third of the party’s lawmakers sought to remove Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister.

“When something like October 7 happens, a country that wants to survive cannot simply carry on as usual,” he tells Ynet. “That also has to be reflected in the leadership, which needs to change. After October 7, that was obvious to a great many Likud members. Some of my colleagues, who today are very busy showing how close they are to Netanyahu, were back then focused on how we could replace him.”

Illouz, who announced yesterday he will not seek reelection in October due to his party’s support for legislation enabling blanket military exemptions for Haredi yeshiva students, is asked to confirm that there was a contingent in Likud that “tried to oust Netanyahu” weeks after October 7. “Absolutely,” he replies.

“I think at least a third of the Likud faction understood that the right thing for the State of Israel was for the leadership to change,” he goes on. “Not through elections, because we were in the middle of an intense war, but through a vote of no confidence.”

He says the only reason this effort did not move forward was failure to agree on who should replace the premier.

The Canadian-born Illouz immigrated to Israel in 2009. He says he joined Likud on the day he arrived.

“I believed in the path that Likud said it would pursue — a free-market economy, the integrity of the Land of Israel, and military service for everyone. I entered the Knesset as part of a ‘full right-wing’ government. That was our dream, and I thought we’d advance those goals. But now, as I reach the end of the Knesset’s term, I see that we’ve done exactly the opposite. The movement’s objectives have not advanced. We’ve completely failed to promote our values.”