The political row between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir intensified over the weekend when Ben-Gvir rejected a call from the prime minister to meet with him and Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday in an effort to unite the coalition partners ahead of elections.
“I invite Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister Bezalel Smotrich to meetings on Sunday,” Netanyahu said on Friday. “Not a single vote must be wasted – we must unite to save the right-wing bloc!”
That appeal followed a video that Netanyahu posted to social media on Thursday, urging Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to reach an agreement to run together.
Ben-Gvir responded that under no circumstances would he consider an alliance with Smotrich’s party like he did in 2022.
“Accordingly, there will be no talks, meetings, or discussions on the topic, not directly and not indirectly,” an Otzma Yehudit statement declared.
Likud then accused Ben-Gvir of risking thousands of right-wing votes and, in essence, allowing Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government.
Polls are showing Smotrich’s party struggling to clear the threshold
Recent polling has shown Smotrich’s party struggling to clear the threshold, while former IDF general Ofer Winter’s newly launched People of Israel party is threatening to take away votes from other right-wing parties.
Otzma Yehudit called on Netanyahu to push either for a union of all the smaller right-wing parties that aren’t slated to pass the electoral threshold, or to grant Smotrich one of the prime minister’s reserved spots on the Likud list.
N12 reported on Friday that Smotrich is in advanced talks with former Likud lawmaker Moshe Feiglin, chairman of the Zehut party, over the possibility of the two parties running together.
Smotrich and Ben-Gvir ran together in the 2022 election as part of a technical alliance before splitting into separate factions after entering the Knesset.
Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir exchange barbs on social media
The drama between the coalition partners boiled over on Thursday when Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir exchanged a bevy of social media barbs at each other.
In his video appeal, Netanyahu laid out his reasoning as to why Ben-Gvir and Smotrich must unite.
“In 1992, they had, just like today, more votes than the Left, but because they ran as three separate parties, we did not pass the electoral threshold and lost to the Left. We got the Oslo disaster, we got [PLO chair Yasser] Arafat here, Hamas here, and everything else is a disaster, ongoing disasters. Therefore, this can happen this time as well. Every time we went together, we won.
“Every time we went separately, we lost. I understand that there are personal grievances between them. They need to overcome them. I will invite them in the coming days. We will make a supreme effort to unite, and this is what the public expects from them, and rightfully so.”
In reaction to the video on Thursday, Ben-Gvir issued his own video accusing Netanyahu of wanting a small Otzma Yehudit party so he can join Eisenkot to establish a broad national government.
“Only a large Otzma Yehudit, together with Smotrich and Ofer Winter running together, only in this way can a fully right-wing government be formed,” said Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir’s video prompted a response from Netanyahu. “Ben-Gvir, don’t bring down the Right. I did not understand your video,” the prime minister said in a post on X/Twitter.
“Are you saying that I want Otzma Yehudit to be weak because I am asking you to unite with Smotrich?”
“It’s the opposite! All the polls show that, if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich unite, it will create a strong party that strengthens the right-wing bloc,” Netanyahu said. “Smotrich is on the verge of the electoral threshold. If you don’t unite with him, we’ll get a left-wing government of Eisenkot with [Democrats leader] Yair Golan and the Arab parties.”
“I can’t believe that, because of personal whims, you’re willing to risk the country.”
“Prime minister, I didn’t understand your video,” Ben-Gvir responded in a post on X.
“You know the data and research as well as I do,” he added. “According to all the polls, a connection between me and Smotrich distances Jewish Strength by 3-4 mandates who won’t come to vote, and the right-wing government will fall!”
He claimed that “the perfect script” would be for Winter and Smotrich to combine their parties. “In your words, Winter doesn’t bring any votes from the undecided!”
“I will do everything so that you do not form a government with Eisenkot! Only a right-wing government!!!”
Smotrich, on the other hand, seemed to agree with the prime minister’s suggestion, writing in a post on X that “the time for unity and responsibility is now.”