Ben Gvir Refuses Electoral Pact With Ex-General Winter, Citing Bennett Comparison

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced Tuesday that his Otzma Yehudit party will not enter into a surplus vote-sharing agreement with the political faction led by former IDF general Ofer Winter. Ben Gvir stated on social media platform X that Winter is "a Bennett number 2," referencing former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is accused by some on the right of betraying his voters by forming a 2021 coalition with centrist, leftist, and Arab parties. Ben Gvir drew a parallel between Winter and Bennett, despite Winter's repeated commitments to exclusively support Benjamin Netanyahu for the next government and his exclusion of participation in a coalition with current opposition parties.

The refusal comes as the two parties face different electoral prospects. Otzma Yehudit is polling around six seats, while Winter's party is hovering near the 3.25% electoral threshold required to enter the Knesset. A surplus vote-sharing agreement allows parties to pool remaining votes for the distribution of the final seats, provided both cross the threshold. This agreement could impact the seat allocation within the right-wing bloc.

Political parties must finalize such agreements by Friday, October 16. By refusing to ally with Winter, Ben Gvir risks losing a potential additional seat that the mechanism might have secured for him. This breakdown also occurs amidst growing rivalries among parties supporting Netanyahu. The Likud recently finalized a similar agreement with Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, leaving Otzma Yehudit without a partner.