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Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Ben Gvir rules out surplus-vote deal with Winter, calls him ‘Bennett 2’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Far-right Otzma Yehudit chairman National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says his party will not sign a surplus-vote agreement with former IDF general Ofer Winter’s right-wing People of Israel party ahead of the October 27 election, amid speculation that the two parties were preparing to strike a deal.
“Winter is Bennett 2, and therefore Otzma Yehudit will not sign a surplus-vote agreement with him,” Ben Gvir says, referring to former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
The comparison comes despite Winter’s repeated insistence that he will only recommend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next government and has ruled out serving in a government led by one of the current opposition parties.
Surplus-vote agreements allow parties to pool leftover votes in the allocation of the Knesset’s final seats, potentially helping one gain an additional seat, provided both independently cross the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Otzma Yehudit is polling at around six seats, while People of Israel has been hovering around the electoral threshold. Parties have until October 16 to submit their agreements.
The Times of Israel Community.