JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party upbraided a far-right cabinet member on Friday for refusing to run on a joint slate with another ultranationalist minister, warning a split vote risked tanking their coalition in upcoming elections.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who recently drew international condemnation for saying Israel should kill “30 to 40” Palestinians nightly in Gaza, has rejected Netanyahu’s pleas to join forces with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“What does Ben Gvir want? A broad national government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu... or because of personal considerations, to burn right-wing votes in order to put a left-wing government in power?” the Likud’s official account wrote on X.
Netanyahu’s calls for unity among his hard-right allies ahead of the October 27 vote come amid a surge in the polls for a new far-right party outside his coalition, founded by former general Ofer Winter.
Analysts say Winter’s rising star could siphon votes from Smotrich’s base, potentially preventing his Religious Zionism party from clearing the electoral threshold of 3.25 percent unless it joins a list with another party.
