Netanyahu invited, Ben Gvir refused: Pressure in the right-wing bloc over fears of wasted votes
Ofer Winter's entry into the arena shuffled the deck, and polls left the Religious Zionism party out of the Knesset. Netanyahu invited Smotrich and Ben Gvir to a meeting, but the latter refused to attend. Possible mergers are expected to be finalized at the last minute.
About a week and a half before the closing of the electoral lists, there is a multitude of parties in the right-wing bloc that makes up the coalition and a real fear of wasted votes.
Ofer Winter's entry into the arena last Tuesday shuffled the deck, and its impact was reflected in some polls, in which the Religious Zionism party was left out of the Knesset.
Because of this, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted on Friday that he is inviting ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir to a joint meeting. However, as of now, such a meeting is not expected to take place. Ben Gvir rushed to tweet on Friday that he would not come, while Smotrich began negotiations with Moshe Feiglin and the Zehut party.
The difference between the two is reflected in the fact that Smotrich seeks to convey that he is acting responsibly and will not allow any vote to go to waste, while Ben Gvir does not trust the invitation to the Prime Minister's Office and sees it as a political stunt with no practical feasibility behind it.
The debate crossed lines when MK Tali Gottlieb publicly sided with Ben Gvir and claimed that he should not unite with Smotrich. On the other hand, the Prime Minister's son, Yair Netanyahu, rushed to attack her in response and claimed that Ben Gvir must unite with Smotrich.
About a week and a half before the closing of the lists, there are currently eight parties in the coalition right-wing bloc, which, together with Feiglin and Noam, are competing for the same pool of votes. If we see mergers, they are expected to happen only close to the closing of the lists.
