Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir launched an unusually sharp public attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, following reports that Netanyahu has been secretly mediating merger talks between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and political rival Moshe Feiglin. In a pointed message, Ben-Gvir accused the Prime Minister of orchestrating a "cynical game" designed to pressure Feiglin while marginalizing Ben-Gvir's own Otzma Yehudit party. "Good week, Mr. Prime Minister," Ben-Gvir began his charged statement. "I was stunned by reports that Smotrich and Feiglin conducted advanced negotiations for a merger with your mediation, and that only to 'pressure Feiglin,' you and Smotrich issued a staged call for unity with me, whose entire purpose was to lower Feiglin's demands."
Ben-Gvir Attacks Netanyahu Over Merger Talks
National Security Minister accuses Prime Minister of conducting covert negotiations to unite Smotrich with rival Feiglin while sidelining him: "My name is Itamar Ben-Gvir, not Benny Gantz"
According to media reports, Netanyahu met privately with Ben-Gvir last week and demanded that the National Security Minister join forces with Smotrich in a single electoral list. Ben-Gvir flatly refused, presenting Netanyahu with internal polling conducted by Otzma Yehudit's campaign team. The surveys, according to Ben-Gvir's camp, showed that a merger between Otzma Yehudit and Smotrich's Religious Zionism party would alienate key voter groups: young and first-time voters, residents of Israel's geographic periphery who don't identify with Smotrich, and even some ultra-Orthodox voters considering Otzma Yehudit. Ben-Gvir's team claims that approximately 80% of Religious Zionism voters would switch to Ofer Winter's party if it merged with Otzma Yehudit.
The clash comes against the backdrop of Netanyahu's public appeal last Friday, in which he invited both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to meet with him on Sunday. "We cannot waste a single vote, we must unite to save the right-wing bloc," the Prime Minister wrote. Otzma Yehudit responded immediately and categorically: "The Otzma Yehudit party and the Religious Zionism party will not run together in the upcoming Knesset elections. This decision is final and absolute."
Meanwhile, Moshe Feiglin—a former Likud member who now leads his own faction—issued his own warning to the right-wing bloc. In an interview with Galei Israel radio, he made clear he has no intention of withdrawing at the last moment. "If you're playing games here and aren't willing to unite, take into account that you're dealing with a crazy person," Feiglin threatened. "My voters don't belong to you and aren't sitting in your pocket."
Ben-Gvir concluded his statement with a blunt warning directed squarely at the Prime Minister's Office: "Mr. Prime Minister, it's worth reminding you: my name is Itamar Ben-Gvir, not Benny Gantz." The reference to former Defense Minister Benny Gantz (who famously quit Netanyahu's government) serves as a clear signal that Ben-Gvir may also take dramatic steps if he continues to feel sidelined. The political storm arrives during a turbulent period for Israel's right wing, with polls showing significant vote-splitting among smaller parties. Netanyahu, concerned about losing seats from the right-wing bloc, is attempting to broker agreements between the factions, but personal and political tensions appear too deep to resolve easily.
