Netanyahu Shifts Strategy in Final Election Push, Targeting Bennett and Small Parties

With five days remaining until the Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a "Big Party" campaign strategy aimed at consolidating right-wing votes and countering the rise of Ofer Winter. Simultaneously, Netanyahu is altering his approach to Naftali Bennett, now attacking him to weaken Gadi Eisenkot's support base, while continuing efforts to diminish smaller right-wing parties.

Netanyahu's "Big Party" campaign, previously avoided due to concerns about destabilizing other right-wing factions like those led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, is being revived. This shift comes as Smotrich has seen a significant increase in polls, and Ben-Gvir remains stable, creating what Netanyahu's camp perceives as a safe window to draw votes back to the Likud party. The primary objective is to block Winter's electoral success, as Likud believes a direct appeal for a large governing party will be more effective with his potential voters than previous warnings about him potentially aligning with Avigdor Lieberman or the "change bloc."

In parallel, Netanyahu has changed his stance on Naftali Bennett. After weeks of ignoring him, Netanyahu has begun directly addressing Bennett in tweets, live streams, and public speeches. While this appears to be an attempt to curb Bennett's growing support, which reached 16 seats in a recent poll, the underlying strategy is more complex. Netanyahu aims to shift public attention to Bennett, thereby strengthening him at the expense of Gadi Eisenkot, whose support has grown beyond expectations. This direct confrontation with Bennett is also intended to destabilize the "change bloc," create leadership tensions within it, and split centrist-left votes in the final stretch.

In addition to targeting Winter and Bennett, Netanyahu continues to focus on consolidating the right-wing bloc by attempting to eliminate smaller parties. This includes a sharp attack on Professor Yaron Zelekha during a visit to a gas rig with Energy Minister Eli Cohen. These efforts underscore Netanyahu's ongoing strategy to prevent vote fragmentation and maximize the Likud's mandate in the final days before the election.