Full Breakdown
Netanyahu Pushes Ben Gvir–Smotrich Unity as Otzma Yehudit Refuses
8/29/2026, 7:51:51 AM
Core Event
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly invited Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (leader of the Religious Zionist Party) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (chair of Otzma Yehudit) to meet on Sunday to discuss forming a joint list for the October 27 parliamentary election. Netanyahu framed the alliance as essential to “save the right-wing bloc.”
Background & Context
In the 2022 election, a technical alliance between Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism secured 14 Knesset seats, but the partnership dissolved afterward. Israel’s proportional-representation system requires a party to obtain at least 3.25 % of the vote to pass the electoral threshold; parties falling below this threshold waste their votes. Recent polls show Smotrich’s party hovering near that threshold, while a new right-wing formation led by former IDF general Ofer Winter (People of Israel) draws support from the same voter base, threatening Smotrich’s viability.
Data & Statistics
- A Walla poll reported Otzma Yehudit at 8 seats, People of Israel at 6 seats, and Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party at 2.6 % of the vote, below the threshold.
- The same poll gave Likud 21 seats, while the opposition Yashar Party led by Gadi Eisenkot held 25 seats.
- Pollster **Dr.
Official Statements & Responses
Ben Gvir’s rebuttal framed the merger proposal as an attempt to “weaken Otzma Yehudit” and enable a “broad national government” that would not be truly right-wing or nationalistic.
Verbatim Quotes
- “They will evacuate your house, Itamar,” — Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, be prime minister
- “In my estimation, he took approximately one seat from the Religious Zionist Party,” — Pollster Dr. Menachem Lazar, director
- “We very much hope to pass the draft law even before the government is formed, as part of the coalition agreements,” — Guy Levy, likud spokesman
- “If we need to enter a coalition, a draft law will pass before the government is formed,” — Ben Tzur
Why It Matters
If Ben Gvir and Smotrich remain separate, Smotrich risks falling below the electoral threshold, potentially handing a plurality to the anti-Netanyahu bloc and enabling a coalition that could pursue a Palestinian state, weaken the Israel Defense Forces, and alter settlement policy.
Conversely, Ben Gvir’s refusal underscores intra-right tensions and the challenge of consolidating fragmented far-right parties. The outcome will shape whether the right-wing bloc can secure a governing majority or whether a rotation or broad coalition, as discussed in closed Likud circles, becomes necessary.
