Likud MK Dan Illouz Expected to Leave Party

MK Dan Illouz is expected to announce shortly that he is leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, N12 News reported on July 11, 2026. @Jerusalem_Post reported that Illouz’s office did not release an official statement or confirm the departure when asked for comment. A political source told the Post that the departure was highly likely to happen soon.

The report follows MK Yuli Edelstein’s July 3 announcement that he will leave Likud. Edelstein is expected to begin a new political party. Both Edelstein and Illouz are critics of legislation being advanced by the haredi parties in the coalition.

In June, Illouz told the Post that the haredi parties “can be a danger to the future of the state of Israel” and that the coalition should sever ties with them. Illouz stated that if the army doesn’t have enough soldiers, that’s a danger to Israel’s ability to protect itself, and that haredi draft evasion has an economic impact.

“I believe that the ideology that I represent – the right-wing, free market, hawkish ideology – is the one that needs to lead the country,” said Illouz.

“But I don’t believe that the coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties is actually something which is helping us advance this ideology,” he added.