Ben Gvir Confirms Split: Otzma Yehudit Running Solo, Cuts Smotrich Ties

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has officially confirmed a directive ordering his Otzma Yehudit party members to sever all contact with potential coalition partners on the right, signaling a dramatic shift toward an independent electoral strategy that could reshape Israel's right-wing political landscape ahead of the next election.

Ben Gvir's office issued a terse statement Tuesday confirming the directive, which was first reported by Srugim News earlier in the day. "Otzma Yehudit will run alone for the sake of the right-wing bloc," the statement declared. "Right now, we are not dealing with anything else."

The confirmation came after Srugim revealed that Ben Gvir had instructed his advisers and party operatives to cease all communications with figures in Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party and former MK Moshe Feiglin's Zehut movement. According to the report, the directive explicitly forbids party members from responding to outreach or proposals regarding potential political alliances or the formation of a technical bloc, despite preliminary discussions that had taken place in recent weeks between various figures in the parties.

The move represents a sharp break from what had appeared to be nascent efforts at coordination among right-wing factions outside Likud. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that exploratory conversations had been underway between operatives from the three parties, but Ben Gvir personally refused to authorize any continuation of those talks, effectively shutting down the possibility of a unified right-wing slate in the near term.

Ben Gvir's decision to go solo follows remarks he made Sunday at the Israel Hayom conference, where he argued that Otzma Yehudit appeals to a far broader constituency than Religious Zionism. The minister has positioned his party as a populist force capable of drawing support beyond the national-religious camp that forms Smotrich's core base, a claim that has fueled tensions between the two leaders despite their shared presence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.

The announcement comes at a moment of significant turbulence within Israel's right-wing political sphere. Internal fractures have emerged within Likud itself, with MKs Dan Illouz and Ofir Katz engaging in a heated public confrontation over the yeshiva draft immunity bill and questions of party loyalty. Meanwhile, veteran Likud figure Yuli Edelstein announced last week he would not compete in party primaries and instead intends to launch a new political movement, triggering what observers describe as a crisis for Netanyahu's hold on the party's centrist wing.

Netanyahu (Photo: Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)

Ben Gvir's strategy carries significant risks. By refusing to coordinate with Smotrich and Feiglin, he gambles that Otzma Yehudit can clear the electoral threshold independently and potentially win enough seats to become a kingmaker in coalition negotiations. However, the move also raises the possibility of vote-splitting on the right, which could benefit centrist or left-wing parties if multiple small factions fail to coordinate effectively.

Neither Smotrich's Religious Zionism nor Feiglin's Zehut had issued official responses to Ben Gvir's confirmation by press time. The directive effectively freezes any potential technical bloc arrangements that might have emerged in the coming months, leaving each party to chart its own course as Israel moves closer to what many analysts expect will be a highly competitive and unpredictable election.