Netanyahu and Ofer Winter Face Off Amid Likud Campaign and Past Revelations
Tensions rise between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter as Likud launches political attacks, while discussions over a potential surplus votes agreement face internal debate.
Amid an aggressive campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party against Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, leader of the "Am Yisrael" party, revelations have emerged regarding past ties between the two. In late 2018, following Avigdor Lieberman's resignation as defense minister, Netanyahu reportedly considered appointing Winter as his military secretary, offering to oust then-secretary Avi Bluth. While the offer did not materialize and Netanyahu denied the report, current political dynamics show intense friction.
According to Channel 13, Netanyahu recently instructed senior Likud officials to attack Winter and his associates, claiming in closed talks that Winter and Lieberman plan to join the left after the elections. Meanwhile, some of Netanyahu's advisers are exploring a potential "ceasefire" and a surplus votes agreement between Winter and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party to prevent right-wing votes from going to waste, though Netanyahu reportedly opposes the move for now.
Speaking at an activists' conference in Rishon LeZion, Winter pushed back hard against the political attacks. "They want to take me down? We are as strong as a fist," Winter declared. "During the Days of Awe, I hear harsh statements like 'we need to dismantle him, we need to take him down, it's time to eliminate him.' These are not cabinet quotes about eliminating Sinwar or Nasrallah; these are quotes from ministers, MKs, and Likud candidates against a man whose party includes reservists who fought hundreds of days in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria."
Winter added that the attacks come from advisers who are disconnected from the field and intoxicated by manipulative polls. In response, Likud dismissed Winter's remarks as "absolute lies" and demanded he retract his statements, threatening a defamation lawsuit. Likud officials criticized Winter for harming the right-wing bloc's electoral prospects instead of targeting the left, while Likud ministers such as Shlomo Karhi and Eli Cohen have openly labeled Winter a liability to the right.
