From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 27, 2025
Ben Gvir plays down likelihood of returning to government, says Netanyahu needs to ‘come to his senses’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Asked by a reporter if his far-right Otzma Yehudit party would return to the government, in light of the images of Gazans returning to their homes in the north of the Strip, chairman Itamar Ben Gvir says, “The chance that we will return is not high.”
“If our dear Prime Minister Netanyahu comes to his senses and understands that we need to change direction once again from what he has been doing all year, to victory, to complete victory, to the collapse of Hamas, we will be there,” he says.
Ben Gvir does not appear to completely rule out returning, however. Asked about Police Commissioner Daniel Levy’s support for the hostage deal, Ben Gvir says that the senior officer “doesn’t need to get into politics. He might need me by his side.”
Asked what he intends to do with rebel MK Almog Cohen, who is not present in the room during the party’s weekly faction meeting, Ben Gvir says that Cohen “has been in a dialogue with Likud for about two years.”
“His place is in Likud and I wish him great success,” Ben Gvir adds.
