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New Party Leader Warns Netanyahu: Support Is Conditional
On Saturday, October 10, 2026, former IDF Brigadier General Ofer Winter, chairman of the newly formed Am Yisrael party, declared in a Channel 12 interview that his support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is conditional on meeting specific right-wing demands. Winter stated that his party would run in the elections to the end and would refuse to join any government that does not pursue its objectives, asserting that if Netanyahu does not comply, "Bibi can jump for me" or "kiss my a."
3 newsrooms · 2 languages · since
What happened
- 01Former IDF Brigadier General Ofer Winter, chairman of Am Yisrael, conditioned his support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on meeting specific right-wing demands.
- 02Winter's demands include achieving a decisive military victory in Gaza, encouraging emigration from the Strip, and enacting a Haredi conscription law.
- 03Winter declared that his party would refuse to join any government that fails to meet these conditions, stating he does not work for Netanyahu.
- 04The Likud party and Netanyahu responded by comparing Winter to former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and warning against splitting the right-wing vote.
- 05Netanyahu alleged that senior figures in Winter's party support a Palestinian state and urged right-wing voters to support Likud instead.
- 06Winter firmly rejected any political alliance with Yair Golan and criticized Gadi Eisenkot's proposed government as a danger to Israel.
- 07Am Yisrael criticized the current government's handling of security and societal issues, presenting itself as a new force for change on the right.
Winter's key conditions for recommending Netanyahu for Prime Minister include achieving a decisive military victory in Gaza, encouraging emigration from the Gaza Strip, enacting a law for equal conscription of Haredi citizens into the IDF, and forming a right-wing coalition that does not rely on Yitzhak Goldknopf of United Torah Judaism for a 61-seat majority. He expressed disappointment with Netanyahu's current government, stating it aims only to preserve the status quo and is a problem for Israel. Politically, Winter firmly rejected any alliance with Yair Golan and criticized Gadi Eisenkot's proposed government as a danger to the state.
In response, the Likud party and Netanyahu launched a harsh counterattack, comparing Winter to former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and warning that his party could split right-wing votes. Netanyahu recalled Bennett's broken promises to the right that led to a government with the Islamist Ra'am party, and alleged that senior figures in Winter's party support a Palestinian state. Netanyahu urged voters not to gamble with Israel's fate and to vote Likud, stating, "If it walks like Bennett and talks like Bennett, it's Bennett."
Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: The Jerusalem Post. Read The Jerusalem Post’s originalThe coverage
3 newsrooms on this story
Who covered it
- LeftNone
- Centre1
- Right1
- HarediNone
- ArabNone
- Other1
