Likud Threatens Defamation Lawsuit Against Ofer Winter Amidst Right-Wing Feud

The political friction within Israel's right-wing bloc intensified Tuesday as the Likud party threatened a defamation lawsuit against former IDF General Ofer Winter. Winter had previously accused Netanyahu's inner circle of being "disconnected from the ground" and relying on "fictitious polls," suggesting they were giving the Prime Minister bad advice. He further alleged at a recent event that private investigators had been sent to his home, a claim the Likud vehemently denied, calling it a "complete lie."

In response to the Likud's threat, Winter clarified that he never stated the Likud party itself sent investigators to his home. However, he reiterated his criticism of Netanyahu's advisors, whom he described as detached from reality and misled by biased pollsters. Winter questioned the Likud's attacks on him, pointing out their own polls suggesting a right-wing majority even without his participation.

Behind the scenes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly supports escalating the campaign against Winter. A primary concern for Likud is Winter's potential to fail to pass the electoral threshold, as his support hovers around 4-5 seats in polls. More significantly, Netanyahu fears Winter might eventually align with Avigdor Lieberman, especially since Winter has attacked other figures like Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett but has so far refrained from criticizing Lieberman.

Despite this, Winter did criticize Lieberman at an event on Tuesday. His party expressed frustration with Netanyahu's approach, arguing that their attacks force them to "shift rightward" and could jeopardize their ability to cross the electoral threshold. The Likud, however, issued a strong statement demanding Winter retract his claims about the investigators or face legal action, urging him instead to focus his attacks on the left-wing parties.