Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer has vociferously denied that he, minister Ami Ayalon and former Labor party chairman Knesset Member Amir Peretz met to organize a rebellion to unseat Defense Minister Ehud Barak as party chairman. He insisted that he actually met on Thursday with party officials to discuss how to improve unity
However, he also stated that Barak is not the most suitable person to be Prime Minister. "I have said it in the past and I will not try to hide it," he said. "The party chairman [Barak] has made mistakes in the past" but added they should not prevent him from heading the government. Barak holds the record for the shortest term of office for an elected Prime Minister. His government came apart in 2000 after 18 months, and he was trounced by Ariel Sharon in the ensuing elections.