Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir and Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich to reach an agreement to run together ahead of the upcoming election in a video posted to social media on Thursday.
At the beginning of the video, Netanyahu was asked, “Prime Minister, what about Smotrich and Ben-Gvir?” He replied: “They must unite. Every time we ran together, we won. When we ran separately, we lost.”
“In 1992, they had, just like today, more votes than the Left, but because they ran as three separate parties, we did not pass the electoral threshold and lost to the Left. We got the Oslo disaster, we got [Yasser] Arafat here, Hamas here, and everything else is a disaster, ongoing disasters. Therefore, this can happen this time as well. Every time we went together, we won.”
“Every time we went separately, we lost. I understand that there are personal grievances between them. They need to overcome them. I will invite them in the coming days. We will make a supreme effort to unite, and this is what the public expects from them, and rightfully so.”
Ben-Gvir responds to Netanyahu’s suggestion
“You want a small Otzma Yehudit party so you can join Eisenkot to establish a ‘broad national government,'” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded in a video.
“Only a large Otzma Yehudit, together with Smotrich and Ofer Winter running together, only in this way can a fully right-wing government be formed.”
Ben-Gvir’s video prompted a response from Netanyahu. “Ben-Gvir, don’t bring down the Right. I did not understand your video,” the prime minister said in a post on X/Twitter.
“Are you saying that I want Otzma Yehudit to be weak because I am asking you to unite with Smotrich?”
בן גביר, אל תפיל את הימין.
לא הבנתי את הסרטון שלך.
אתה אומר שאני רוצה ״עוצמה יהודית חלשה״ בגלל שאני קורא לך להתאחד עם סמוטריץ׳?
הפוך!
לפי כל הסקרים: בלוק טכני של בן גביר + סמוטריץ׳ = מפלגה חזקה שתחזק את גוש הימין ולא תבזבז את קולות הימין.
סמוטריץ׳ על גבול אחוז החסימה. אם…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) August 27, 2026
“It’s the opposite! All the polls show that if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich unite it will create a strong party that strengthens the right-wing bloc,” Netanyahu said. “Smotrich is on the verge of the electoral threshold. If you don’t unite with him, we’ll get a left-wing government of Eisenkot with Yair Golan and the Arab parties.”
“I can’t believe that because of personal whims you’re willing to risk the country.”
Ben-Gvir further shoots down Netanyahu’s plan
“Prime Minister, I didn’t understand your video,” Ben-Gvir responded in a post on X.
“The attempt to weaken Otzma Yehudit party in order to form a broad national government with Eisenkot is neither right-wing nor nationalistic.”
אדוני ראש הממשלה,
לא הבנתי את הסרטון שלך.
הניסיון להחליש את עוצמה יהודית בשביל להקים ממשלה לאומית רחבה עם אייזנקוט זה מעשה לא ימני ולא לאומי.
אתה מכיר היטב את הנתונים ומחקרי העומק בדיוק כמוני.
שוחחנו מספר פעמים בשבועות האחרונים,
לפי כל הסקרים חיבור שלי וסמוטריץ מרחיק…
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) August 27, 2026
“You know the data and research as well as I do,” he added. “According to all the polls, a connection between me and Smotrich distances Jewish Strength by 3-4 mandates who won’t come to vote, and the right-wing government will fall!”
He claimed that “the perfect script” would be for Winter and Smotrich to combine their parties. “In your words, Winter doesn’t bring any votes from the undecided!”
“I will do everything so that you do not form a government with Eisenkot! Only a right-wing government!!!”
זמן לאחדות ואחריות במחנה הלאומי.
— בצלאל סמוטריץ’ (@bezalelsm) August 27, 2026
Smotrich, on the other hand, seemed to agree with the prime minister’s suggestion, writing in a post on X that “the time for unity and responsibility is now.”
