Knesset member Tally Gotliv disclosed details of a private conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the final hours before Likud party members began voting in primary elections. The lawmaker, who has been campaigning to maintain her position among Likud voters, revealed an exchange concerning Israel's response to proceedings at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
According to her account, when charges were filed against Netanyahu at the ICC and an arrest warrant was requested, the prime minister initially followed advice to engage with the court and sent former Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak to represent Israel. Gotliv said she opposed this approach during a Likud faction meeting, arguing that the Rome Statute did not apply and that Barak, who had previously clashed with Netanyahu, would not adequately defend Israel. Her remarks were leaked from that closed meeting.
"It turns out I was right. Aharon Barak issued rulings against Israel," Gottlieb wrote. "Later, Netanyahu told me I had been correct. Sending Aharon Barak was a terrible mistake that humiliated Israel and the right-wing in particular. Everyone stayed silent, I did not." She added that the prime minister has since listened closely to her counsel.
