Ben-Gvir Claims Political Assassination Attempt After Election Committee Rejects Disqualification Bid

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir reacted strongly after the Central Elections Committee rejected a petition seeking to disqualify his party, Otzma Yehudit, from running in the upcoming Knesset elections. Ben-Gvir accused former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid of attempting to "politically assassinate" him.

Ben-Gvir highlighted that Bennett and Lapid abstained from voting on disqualifying the Arab parties Ra'am and the Joint List, but then supported the move against his party. "It's simply amazing. They abstained from voting to disqualify Ra'am and came to disqualify me," Ben-Gvir stated, drawing a parallel between past physical threats against him and this political move.

The Central Elections Committee ultimately dismissed the petition against Otzma Yehudit with a vote of 19 against and 10 in favor, with one abstention. Representatives from Lapid's Yesh Atid party and Bennett's party voted in favor of disqualification, a day after they did not participate in votes concerning the Arab parties. In contrast, Yisrael Beiteinu opposed the disqualification.

The committee hearing was marked by sharp exchanges, including former MK Yael German's comparison of Otzma Yehudit to Nazism. Ben-Gvir and MK Tal Gottlieb condemned this comparison, calling it a "trivialization of the Holocaust."

Ben-Gvir vowed to continue his work for "the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel," and pledged to continue acting against terrorists in prisons and to arm the Israeli public.