Netanyahu Rules Out Ben Gvir for Defense or Police Ministry, Straining Otzma Yehudit Ties
The prime minister says both portfolios will stay with Likud in any coalition he leads after October 27, a declaration that has infuriated his far-right ally just as rivals accuse him of eyeing a unity deal with Gadi Eisenkot.
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By Israel Politics Post Staff·Published
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir · Source: Sharon Leibel/Flash90 and Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90, via The Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will not be handed the Defense Ministry or the police portfolio in any government he forms after the October 27 election, telling Army Radio that both posts will remain under Likud's control, according to a report by The Times of Israel. Netanyahu added that Education Minister Yoav Kisch would keep his current post as well.
The comments drew an immediate backlash from Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, which has pushed hard for the Defense Ministry as the price of its continued coalition support. Ben Gvir told Walla that Netanyahu had made similar predictions before and been proven wrong, and that he still expects to win the post through the strength of his showing at the ballot box.
Otzma Yehudit figures, including number-two candidate Tally Gotliv, accused Netanyahu of quietly preparing to sideline the party altogether in favor of a coalition built around centrist rival Gadi Eisenkot, declaring that "the cat's out of the bag." Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have publicly denied any such arrangement is in the works.
The dispute exposes a widening rift inside the governing bloc just a week before voters decide whether Netanyahu gets a mandate to form a new coalition at all.
