Report: Barkat Co-Led Likud Effort to Oust Netanyahu After Oct. 7

Likud Lawmakers Weighed Ousting Netanyahu Weeks After October 7

A significant faction of lawmakers within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party discussed oust and replacement strategies in the weeks following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. While the intraparty push ultimately fractured over leadership rivalries before achieving a successful parliamentary challenge, the revelations underscore deep structural fractures at the apex of Israeli governance during wartime.

Inside the Secret Post-Massacre Parliament Discussions

At least one-third of the Likud parliamentary faction actively participated in discussions regarding a leadership change, according to reporting from The Times of Israel and interviews published on Ynet’s Hebrew-language political podcast 121 VeAhat.

Departing lawmaker Dan Illouz noted that while the immediate aftermath of the massacre focused entirely on national tragedy, lawmakers quickly confronted the question of political accountability as the conflict escalated.

“We’re talking about the weeks after the massacre, not immediately afterward,” Illouz stated during the podcast interview, as reported by Ynetnews. “Right after Oct. 7, nobody was dealing with anything except the tragedy.”

Leadership Ambitions and the Prime Minister’s Counter-Offensive

Illouz confirmed that an organized effort did exist among a significant bloc of legislators who believed the state required new leadership via a parliamentary vote of no confidence rather than immediate elections during an active war.

However, internal disagreements over succession—specifically, who would step forward first to replace Netanyahu—stalled the maneuver before it reached the Knesset floor. Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly caught wind of the intraparty coup attempt and successfully quashed it.

Friction Points Testing Governing Coalition Loyalty

The attempted political maneuver highlights the complex friction points inside Israel’s ruling party, where debates over military conscription, judicial reform, and hostage negotiations have persistently tested coalition loyalty.

Netanyahu has consistently rejected calls to resign over the security failures of October 7, maintaining that leadership changes during wartime directly undermine the nation’s military objectives.

The Future Balance of Power in the Knesset

As Likud attempts to shore up party unity, the friction between dissenting lawmakers advocating for ideological consistency and party loyalists backing the sitting prime minister continues to shape the trajectory of Israeli domestic politics.

Accountability and institutional trust remain central to the ongoing public discourse surrounding the events of October 7.