Likud Escalates Attacks on Ofer Winter, Linking Him to Liberman

The Likud party has intensified its rhetoric against Ofer Winter, chairman of the "Am Israel" party, following reports that Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Liberman, has decided to refrain from attacking Winter. The reason cited for Yisrael Beiteinu's shift is the possibility of Winter becoming a future coalition partner for the right-wing bloc. Likud is leveraging this report to reinforce its ongoing claim that Winter is aligned with Liberman, stating, "Winter is closed with Liberman."

According to the report, Yisrael Beiteinu's campaign strategy now involves downplaying criticism of Winter and focusing instead on his potential alliance with the right-wing bloc. This approach stems from Yisrael Beiteinu's consideration of Winter as a potential political ally after the upcoming elections. This development provides Likud with further ammunition in its campaign against "Am Israel."

The alleged connection between Winter and Liberman is not new; reports from May indicated that Prime Minister Netanyahu privately stated, "Winter is closed with Liberman," though Likud denied this at the time. The political future of "Am Israel" has been a point of contention within the right-wing parties, with internal Likud discussions debating whether to attack Winter to potentially gain votes or to avoid strengthening him by ignoring him.

Despite the reported shift by Yisrael Beiteinu, Winter has publicly criticized Liberman, questioning the ability of those who partner with Yair Golan to bring about decisive outcomes. However, Winter has not ruled out the possibility of Liberman being part of a right-wing government. Likud aims to highlight Winter's potential post-election partners, particularly Liberman, to counter Winter's positioning of "Am Israel" as an independent right-wing party.