Tzvika Foghel Quits Otzma Yehudit and Withdraws from Knesset Race
Brigadier General (Res.) Tzvika Foghel has announced his retirement from Otzma Yehudit and will not run for the 26th Knesset. The decision follows disagreements with Itamar Ben Gvir over his placement on the party list.
Four years after Itamar Ben Gvir brought him into the Otzma Yehudit party, Brigadier General (Res.) Tzvika Foghel announced on Sunday that he will not run for the 26th Knesset on the party's slate.
The decision by Foghel, who served as the chairman of the Knesset National Security Committee during the recent term, follows the restructuring of the party's electoral list. MK Tally Gotliv and Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf were placed in the second and third spots behind party leader Itamar Ben Gvir, with Limor Sonn Har-Melech secured in fifth, and Yitzhak Kroizer in sixth. Foghel, who was pushed further down the list, decided to withdraw his candidacy.
Unmet Expectations and Political Rifts
Behind Foghel's decision lie significant gaps in expectations between him and Ben Gvir regarding his political future. Foghel aspired to advance to a ministerial position in the next government, but coordination talks with the Otzma Yehudit chairman revealed that Ben Gvir envisioned a different path and a lower placement for him.
Tzvika Foghel stated:
"It was my honor to represent the people of Israel in the Knesset and as chairman of the National Security Committee, and I had the privilege of being part of the Otzma Yehudit party. In recent years, I gave my all for the people and the State of Israel, especially to ensure that Israel would emerge victorious after the terrible disaster we endured. Unfortunately, continuing my work in the Knesset or the future government is not possible in the way I had planned. I wish my colleagues in the party great success. I am closing this chapter, but the mission continues."
Ben Gvir's Farewell
Minister of National Security and Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben Gvir bid farewell to Foghel, praising his dedication:
"I thank my dear friend, MK Tzvika Foghel, from the bottom of my heart for years of dedicated, determined, and uncompromising action for the security of the state, the people of Israel, and the Otzma Yehudit party. In his role as chairman of the National Security Committee, he led a series of significant moves to strengthen security, governance, security bodies, and civilian standby units, and was a leading legislative force in the Knesset."
Military and Political Background
Foghel, a retired brigadier general, first entered the Knesset following the 2022 elections. He was initially placed tenth on the joint slate of Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit, later becoming one of the most prominent figures in Ben Gvir's faction.
Prior to his political career, he served for decades in the IDF, including as a commander of artillery formations and as the Chief of Staff of the Southern Command. Following his military discharge, he also served as the appointed head of the municipal council in Tuba-Zangariyye in the Galilee.
In February 2023, Foghel was appointed chairman of the National Security Committee, which became a primary arena for advancing Ben Gvir's policies regarding the police, the Israel Prison Service, civilian firearm licensing, and combating crime. Under his leadership, the committee focused on expanding civilian standby units and advancing the bill for the death penalty for terrorists, which Foghel previously cited as one of his signature legislative achievements.
