Breaking· Politics· Updated
Netanyahu and Smotrich Plan Election Alliances Excluding Ben-Gvir
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are holding an election preparation summit in Jerusalem on Thursday. The closed-door conference, titled "Saving the Right," will take place at the Ramada Hotel and gather dozens of senior rabbis and heads of religious institutions. The event aims to coordinate ground operations, build a network of thousands of activists, and boost voter turnout for the right-wing bloc ahead of the 2026 elections.
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What happened
- 01Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are hosting a closed-door election summit in Jerusalem on Thursday.
- 02The conference, titled "Saving the Right," aims to mobilize activists and boost right-wing voter turnout for the 2026 elections.
- 03National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was not invited to the summit and learned of it only through the media.
- 04Prominent rabbis Shmuel Eliyahu and Dov Lior, the spiritual leader of Otzma Yehudit, were also excluded from the guest list.
- 05Organizers stated the guest list was tailored specifically to activists and yeshiva students affiliated with the Religious Zionism party.
- 06Otzma Yehudit views the exclusion as an attempt to sideline the party from a future coalition in favor of a broad government with Gantz.
- 07The Likud recently signed a surplus agreement with the Religious Zionism-Identity party, leaving Otzma Yehudit without such an arrangement.
- 08Efforts are currently being made to persuade the Noam party to withdraw from the elections to prevent splitting the right-wing vote.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the chairman of Otzma Yehudit, was excluded from the summit and was reportedly unaware of it until contacted by the press. Prominent Religious Zionism Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and Rabbi Dov Lior, the spiritual leader of Otzma Yehudit, were also not invited. Organizers denied that Ben-Gvir's exclusion was a snub, stating that the guest list reflects the conference's specific focus on mobilizing activists and yeshiva students associated with Religious Zionism institutions.
However, the exclusion comes amid strained relations and a lack of direct communication between Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir, who have not held a personal conversation in recent weeks. Otzma Yehudit views the move as further evidence of an attempt to sideline the party from a future coalition, pointing to a surplus agreement signed between Likud and Smotrich's party this week that left Otzma Yehudit out. Additionally, efforts are underway to persuade the Noam party to withdraw from the elections to avoid splitting right-wing votes.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: Al-Shams. Read Al-Shams’s originalThe coverage
5 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
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- Arab1
Not in the Left or Centre press
