Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have sent messages to Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yesh! party, indicating that Likud will not insist on including the Otzma Yehudit party in a government if negotiations open for a unity coalition, according to a report published this evening in Ynet.
The message contradicts Netanyahu's statements during the election campaign, in which he pledged to keep his coalition partners, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
In recent days, Netanyahu has stepped up his calls for a unity government with the parties of the "change bloc," amid the possibility that Eisenkot could succeed in forming a government and end Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister.
According to the report, Netanyahu's circle has begun sending messages that Ben-Gvir would not be part of such a government, in part because of international criticism of his conduct.
The move also comes against the backdrop of opposition previously voiced in the circle of U.S. President Donald Trump to Ben-Gvir's inclusion in the next government. At the end of September, it was reported that sources close to the president made clear to Netanyahu that a government in which Ben-Gvir is a member is not acceptable to them, and even raised possible reservations about Smotrich as well.
