Otzma Yehudit chairman against Netanyahu: "My name is Itamar Ben Gvir, not Benny Gantz"

The conflict within the right-wing bloc is intensifying: the Minister of National Security and chairman of Otzma Yehudit, Itamar Ben Gvir, attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening (Saturday) on his X account following reports of advanced contacts for a merger between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Zehut chairman Moshe Feiglin.

"I was stunned by the reports that Smotrich and Feiglin conducted advanced negotiations for a merger with your mediation," Ben Gvir wrote to Netanyahu.

He claimed that the Prime Minister's and Smotrich's call for unity with him was actually intended to "pressure Feiglin" and lower his demands in the negotiations. The contacts between Smotrich and Feiglin were indeed reported as advanced, with one of the options examined being a run within a technical block.

"It is one thing to boycott events with my participation and be ashamed to be photographed with me, but is the emotional call for unity also just a cynical game? Mr. Prime Minister, it is worth reminding you: my name is Itamar Ben Gvir, not Benny Gantz."

The attack comes after Netanyahu called on Ben Gvir and Smotrich on Friday to meet with him in an attempt to promote a joint run, arguing that it is forbidden to "waste a single vote" in the right-wing bloc. Within four minutes, Otzma Yehudit rejected the proposal and clarified that its decision not to run together with the Religious Zionism party is "final and absolute." In Otzma Yehudit, they even claimed that they learned of Netanyahu's invitation through social media.

The refusal led to a sharp attack from the Likud, which claimed that Ben Gvir's decision not to unite with Smotrich could lead to a loss of votes in the right-wing bloc. The party called on him to "overcome personal ego" and even claimed that by doing so, he is endangering the formation of another right-wing government.

Now, after the contacts between Smotrich and Feiglin were exposed, Ben Gvir presents a different version of the chain of events and claims that the public attempt to bring about a union between him and Smotrich was not intended from the start to ripen into an agreement, but served as a tool in the negotiations that were being conducted in parallel.