Netanyahu Shifts Strategy Five Days Before Election, Targets Bennett
Translated & summarized from Mako by baba
Five days before Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a "Big Party" campaign to consolidate right-wing votes and counter Ofer Winter. He has also shifted strategy to attack Naftali Bennett, aiming to weaken Gadi Eisenkot's growing support. The Likud party is also working to absorb votes from smaller right-wing factions, including criticism directed at Professor Yaron Zelekha, to maximize Netanyahu's mandate.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Netanyahu launched a "Big Party" campaign five days before elections to consolidate right-wing votes.
- Netanyahu is now attacking Naftali Bennett to weaken Gadi Eisenkot's growing support.
- The Likud aims to block Ofer Winter by urging right-wing voters to vote for a large governing party.
- Netanyahu is also targeting smaller right-wing parties to prevent vote loss.
- The strategic shifts come as polls show Bennett strengthening and Eisenkot growing beyond expectations.
With five days remaining until the Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has initiated a strategic shift, launching a "Big Party" campaign aimed at consolidating right-wing votes and countering the rise of Ofer Winter. Simultaneously, Netanyahu is changing his approach towards Naftali Bennett, now attacking him to diminish the influence of Gadi Eisenkot. The Likud party is also intensifying efforts to absorb votes from smaller right-wing parties.
Netanyahu's "Big Party" campaign, previously avoided due to concerns about destabilizing other right-wing factions like Bezalel Smotrich's party, is now being deployed aggressively. This change comes as Smotrich has seen a significant surge in polls, and Itamar Ben-Gvir remains stable. The Likud now believes there is sufficient security to directly appeal for votes, particularly to block Winter, whose potential to join Avigdor Lieberman or the "change bloc" is no longer seen as a deterrent to his voters. The strategy is to convince right-wing voters that only a vote for Likud ensures the camp's future.
In parallel, Netanyahu has altered his stance on Naftali Bennett. After weeks of ignoring him, Netanyahu is now directly addressing Bennett in tweets, live streams, and public speeches. While this appears to be an attempt to curb Bennett's growing support, which has reached 15 seats in recent polls, the underlying tactic is more complex. Netanyahu aims to shift the balance of power within the opposition, specifically targeting Gadi Eisenkot, whose party has grown beyond expectations. By focusing public attention on Bennett, Netanyahu hopes to weaken Eisenkot and potentially create divisions within the center-left bloc.
Beyond these shifts, Netanyahu continues to engage in efforts to consolidate right-wing support by targeting smaller parties. He recently visited a gas rig with Energy Minister Eli Cohen to criticize Professor Yaron Zelekha. This ongoing effort to eliminate potential vote-splitting candidates, including Winter, Zelekha, and others, aims to maximize Likud's mandate in the final days before the election.
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