Likud Rebel Dudi Amsalem Endorses Gadi Eizenkot for Prime Minister Amid Internal Party Strife

Dudi Amsalem, a senior Likud minister, publicly challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership in a revealing interview on 103fm radio on August 5, 2026. Amsalem criticized Netanyahu’s unprecedented demand for eight reserved spots on the party list ahead of the upcoming primaries, calling it an overreach and emphasizing that Likud is not Netanyahu’s personal property. He stated, "Likud existed before Netanyahu and will continue after him," highlighting growing internal dissent.

Amsalem also broke ranks with the party’s campaign against Gadi Eizenkot, Netanyahu’s main rival, whom the Netanyahu camp has portrayed as a dangerous leftist. Contrarily, Amsalem praised Eizenkot as a good man, a dedicated public servant who paid a personal price for the country, and argued that his natural place is within Likud. He even offered to help Eizenkot join the party if he accepts its path, effectively endorsing him as a future leader.

This endorsement is significant because it comes from one of Likud’s most prominent figures and contradicts the party’s official narrative that seeks to marginalize Eizenkot. Amsalem’s remarks suggest that many Likud voters identify more with Eizenkot’s image as a straightforward, state-oriented former military chief than with Netanyahu. The interview exposed a deep internal rift and a brewing rebellion within Likud, signaling a potential shift in the party’s leadership dynamics ahead of the 2026 elections.

Amsalem’s blunt message to Netanyahu was clear: the party belongs to its 150,000 members, not to any individual, and attempts to consolidate power at the expense of longtime loyalists are causing fractures. Meanwhile, his warm words for Eizenkot serve as a political gift to Netanyahu’s strongest challenger, marking a pivotal moment in the Likud primary race.