Ben Gvir Says He and Smotrich Should Run Separately to Preserve a Right-Wing Government

Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of Otzma Yehudit and Israel’s national security minister, said at the start of his faction meeting that Israel must reject any agreement between the United States and Iran. “The State of Israel must not accept the agreement between the U.S. and Iran,” he said, adding that a sovereign state is “not a subcontractor” and that in the face of existential threats Israel should act according to “the dictate of our conscience,” not outside pressure.

Ben Gvir also addressed the police response to ultra-Orthodox protests against military conscription. He blamed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, saying she “is guilty, she is inciting and fueling it.” He said he had wanted to fire her, but that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset members from the ultra-Orthodox parties opposed it.

Asked whether he would join forces with Bezalel Smotrich in the next election, Ben Gvir said the opposite is needed. “In order for there to be a right-wing government, we must run separately,” he said. The remarks came as he outlined his political stance ahead of future elections.