Story perspectives

Ben-Gvir Rejects Netanyahu’s Invite to Joint Election List

9/1/2026

Center

Netanyahu Invites

Benjamin Netanyahu invited Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to meet Sunday on a joint list for the October 27 election.
The warning said a split could waste votes and enable a left-leaning coalition, citing polls showing both parties near threshold.
Ben Gvir rejected the invitation, saying Otzma Yehudit will not join Smotrich’s Religious Zionism slate.
Likud said Ben Gvir risks thousands of votes and could hand power to Gadi Eisenkot.

Left

Netanyahu Calls Meeting

Benjamin Netanyahu invited Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to a Sunday meeting on a list for the October 27 election.
Meeting is urged as right ministers amplify rhetoric, including an AI video of Palestinian prisoners and proposals to expand settlements and death-penalty law.
Ben Gvir’s AI video drew four million views before removal.
Smotrich pushed a settlement plan for one million residents and forty new communities.

Blindspot

Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted an AI-generated video depicting Palestinian prisoners on a conveyor belt, which garnered more than 4 million views before the platform removed it.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

On 17 May 1977 Israel held elections where Likud, led by Menachem Begin, secured 43 Knesset seats versus Labor’s 32, ending nearly three decades of left-wing rule—a shift Haim Yavin called the “Mahapach.” The result launched a two-decade period of near parity between right and left blocs. In 2024 Netanyahu’s overture to far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir mirrors that historic fragmentation.

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Netanyahu Invites

Benjamin Netanyahu invited Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to meet Sunday on a joint list for the October 27 election.
The warning said a split could waste votes and enable a left-leaning coalition, citing polls showing both parties near threshold.
Ben Gvir rejected the invitation, saying Otzma Yehudit will not join Smotrich’s Religious Zionism slate.
Likud said Ben Gvir risks thousands of votes and could hand power to Gadi Eisenkot.

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