Itamar Ben Gvir Defends Yair Netanyahu Amid Controversy Over War-Time Movements

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's National Security Minister, publicly defended Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following reports about Yair's locations during the recent war. Ben Gvir sharply criticized journalists covering the story, accusing them of endangering threatened individuals by prioritizing sensational headlines over security. "This morning, I identify with Yair Netanyahu," Ben Gvir stated, condemning the obsessive media pursuit as reckless and harmful.

Later, Yair Netanyahu responded to Ben Gvir's support and shifted focus to political unity within the right-wing bloc. He warned that failure to unite with Bezalel Smotrich could risk empowering a government led by Avigdor Lieberman, Yair Golan, and Gadi Eizenkot, whom he described as aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. Yair cited past election examples, including Moshe Feiglin's 2019 failure to pass the electoral threshold despite strong polls, and urged against repeating the 1992 mistakes of Geula Cohen and Rabbi Levinger, whose refusal to unite led to Yitzhak Rabin's government and the Oslo Accords.

Yair Netanyahu emphasized that despite personal animosities within the right-wing factions, they should form a technical bloc for the elections and then split afterward, stating, "No one asked you to get married. It's just a technical bloc that will separate immediately after the elections." This exchange highlights ongoing tensions within Israel's right-wing political landscape ahead of upcoming elections.