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Netanyahu said set to up public pressure on smaller right-wing parties to unite
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Israeli right wing Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir, left, and Bezalel Smotrich, right, talk with each other during the swearing-in ceremony for Israeli lawmakers at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, November 15, 2022. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to increase the pressure on smaller right-wing parties to unite ahead of the September 8 deadline to finalize candidate rosters for the October 27 election, Channel 12 reports.
In particular, the network reports Netanyahu has not given up on his desire to see Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism and Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit unite, despite the latter having announced there will be no such merger. It says Netanyahu will increase his public calls for the merger.
Netanyahu fears that Smotrich’s failure to pass the electoral threshold — as some polls project — will cost him precious votes he’ll need to form a coalition.
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