Elections 2026

Ben-Gvir's Appeal to Netanyahu

With 47 days until elections, the Otzma Yehudit chairman sends a personal message to the prime minister, protesting briefings against him and reports of alternative partners: We prevented a putsch against you, and you're trying to avoid me

Gila Isaacson

SEP 15, 2026 17:39

2 min read

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party, issued an unusual public and personal appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leveling sharp criticism at the Prime Minister's Office for its conduct toward him and his party against the backdrop of the election campaign.

"Mr. Prime Minister, you know how much I love you," Ben-Gvir opened. "You know that Otzma Yehudit has been loyal to you all along. You know that even when there were temptations, even when offers came to stage a putsch against you, we — unlike other friends in Likud, were the ones who prevented that."

Ben-Gvir went on to protest the treatment he receives from the prime minister's circle and office: "I don't deserve to have your office brief all kinds of foreign countries and tell them they don't want Ben-Gvir in the government. I don't deserve to have your office announce that Eisenkot is going to be your next partner and not Itamar Ben-Gvir. I don't deserve for you to boycott photo ops with me, to refuse to join me on stages, to try to avoid me as much as possible."

In closing, Ben-Gvir emphasized his demand for the formation of a distinctly right-wing coalition after the elections: "Mr. Prime Minister, I love you, but I want a full, full right-wing government."