Likud has rejected Itamar Ben-Gvir's demand for the Defense Ministry in the next government, a day after he announced it, Maariv reported.
At a Jerusalem press conference on Tuesday unveiling Otzma Yehudit's platform for the October 27 election, Ben-Gvir said he would demand the Defense Ministry for himself and the Justice Ministry for his party's No. 2, MK Tally Gotliv. He said it was time to appoint a defense minister "from the outside who didn't come up through the IDF chief of staff's inner circle."
His security plan includes encouraging voluntary emigration from Gaza and Judea and Samaria, disarming the Palestinian Authority and arresting officials who support terrorism, changing the IDF's rules of engagement and ethics code, raising soldiers' salaries, giving land to combat soldiers, and opening elite units such as 8200 to all sectors. Gotliv's plan starts with immediately firing the attorney general, and includes changing how Supreme Court justices are chosen.
Likud's answer came within a day. According to Maariv, the party told Ben-Gvir that Defense and Justice are among its core portfolios and that it has no intention of giving up either in coalition talks. Likud officials also warned that presenting Ben-Gvir as a candidate for defense minister could provoke sharp reactions from Egypt and Jordan and further strain relations with them.
Otzma Yehudit has been polling at around eight seats.
