National Security Minister and MK Itamar Ben Gvir said in an interview with Channel 7 on Monday that retired brigadier general Ofer Winter should not run independently in the next election, arguing he would not cross the electoral threshold. Ben Gvir urged Winter to join forces with Religious Zionism chairman and minister Bezalel Smotrich, saying such a joint list could appeal to part of the national religious public that does not vote for him.
Ben Gvir said, "Winter does not cross the electoral threshold and knows that every vote he gets if he runs alone will go to Bennett or Eisenkot." He added that Winter's refusal even to speak with Smotrich and other bloc figures seemed strange to him, and claimed some coalition lawmakers say Winter is a friend of Avigdor Liberman and Naftali Bennett. He said he hoped Winter would understand he cannot go alone if he fails to clear the threshold. Ben Gvir also pointed to his own past, saying he too once failed to enter the Knesset on his own and later joined Smotrich on a joint slate.
The minister also used the interview to discuss the fighting in Lebanon, saying he is worried because his son is serving there and because, in his words, Israel must be committed to all IDF soldiers. He urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell U.S. President Donald Trump the truth, saying Israel cannot stop the fire or limit itself and that all of Lebanon should be Israel's "playground."
Ben Gvir said he opposes any Israeli withdrawal and hopes it does not happen, calling it a mistake. He said Israel needs freedom of action everywhere, including the Dahiya and Beirut, and insisted that the key to victory lies with Netanyahu, not whoever sits in the White House. "With all due respect to Trump, he is not the story," he said, adding that Israel should not act according to the dictates of even a close friend.
