Tali Gottlieb Joins Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party

Otzma Yehudit party leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir held a press conference Friday to announce the addition of Knesset Member Tali Gottlieb to his party ahead of the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. Gottlieb will run with Otzma Yehudit after reaching an agreement with the Likud party. Under the terms of the deal, Gottlieb can compete on the Otzma Yehudit slate without being declared a defector from Likud, and she will remain subject to Likud's factional discipline until the elections.

The agreement was finalized after Ben-Gvir issued an ultimatum to Likud leadership earlier this week, demanding the completion of the necessary formal steps for Gottlieb's move. He indicated that preparations were underway to determine the placement of Otzma Yehudit candidates on the electoral list, and that changes would be difficult to implement later. Gottlieb had previously stated her willingness to consider moving to another political framework if offered a position that reflected her political standing and influence.