Yair Netanyahu Actively Pushes Right-Wing Party Unifications Ahead of Israeli Elections

Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has recently intensified his involvement in political discourse by posting and responding to politicians on social media. His efforts aim to encourage unification among right-wing parties in the coalition and those hovering around the electoral threshold ahead of the upcoming elections. On Thursday, he predicted that Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir need not fear the electoral threshold but warned him against not uniting with Bezalel Smotrich, calling it a "Russian roulette" risking the country's future and potentially enabling a government led by Mansour Abbas, Avigdor Lieberman, and left-wing figures.

Yair Netanyahu also engaged with members of the Amichai Israel party led by Ofer Winter, who is polling around eight seats. He cautioned that polling numbers do not guarantee crossing the threshold, citing the 2019 example of Moshe Feiglin's party, which polled ten seats but failed to enter the Knesset, thereby weakening the right-wing bloc. He further criticized Mansour Abbas and the Ra'am party, warning that their influence could elevate Abbas to a leading role in the government.

In communications with party members, including lawyer Eran Ben Ari and bereaved mother Lali Deri, Yair Netanyahu outlined three possible scenarios if Otzma Yehudit runs independently without uniting with Smotrich: failing to pass the threshold and handing power to a left-wing coalition; passing the threshold but causing Smotrich to fail, also empowering the left; or both parties failing due to vote splitting, again enabling a left-wing government. His posts underscore a strategic push to consolidate right-wing votes to prevent a left-leaning coalition from forming after the elections.