The script for the clash between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister Nir Barkat was written well in advance, and none of it should come as a surprise.

In their highly dysfunctional relationship, everything has unfolded with predictable precision. The trajectory has been clear and meticulously documented over the years — especially in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas massacre — and the dramatic climax heading into the August 17 Likud party primaries shouldn’t shock anyone.

It is abundantly clear that Netanyahu is finally seizing the opportunity he has been waiting for: to throw Barkat under the bus, just like the premier did with all his other enemies, or at the very least relegate him to the margins of the party slate after years of systematically eroding his standing.

The schemes Barkat previously devised to remove Netanyahu from the premiership only fueled the prime minister’s boundless appetite for revenge. In Monday’s internal elections, both men will face their moment of truth. For now, the target is locked and the political hit job is well underway. We’ve watched it play out across television channels and social media all week.

The October 7 disaster found Barkat — a self-made tech billionaire who amassed a fortune as an early investor in Check Point Software before serving as mayor of Jerusalem — in a distinct state of mind. Like many Israelis, he simply could not fathom why Prime Minister Netanyahu didn’t immediately convene a special press conference and announce his resignation.

Barkat was already convinced back then that Netanyahu was a walking disaster and that every additional day he remained in power endangered the country. Barkat argued that Netanyahu’s conciliatory policy toward Hamas had led directly to the horrific catastrophe in the Gaza border communities and on every other front. The colossal failure, he told associates in private, would inevitably bring ruin upon Likud, as Netanyahu stood zero chance of reelection.

At the end of May 2024, Zman Israel — The Times of Israel’s sister site in Hebrew — reported on Barkat’s thinking and the practical steps he was initiating. Those who met him during those days encountered a man seething with rage at Netanyahu over the failure and tragedy, no less angry than the speakers addressing the mass protests against the judicial overhaul on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan Street a year earlier, the epicenter of the movement against the coalition.

Barkat believed the crisis offered a natural opening for him to oust the man responsible for everything that had happened. He wagered that public fury at Netanyahu would only intensify, seeping into the right-wing electorate and Likud voters, ultimately paving Barkat’s own path to the leadership of both the party and the government.

At the time, Barkat had a clear strategy: push for early Likud primaries, where he would easily defeat Netanyahu, aided in no small part by his virtually unlimited........

© The Times of Israel