Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly promised extremist MK Itamar Ben Gvir he won’t form a government without him or his party if he wins the upcoming Knesset election, as part of Netanyahu’s efforts to broker the merger between Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism.
According to Channel 12 news, Netanyahu made the promise on Friday at the poolside in his Caesarea residence, after Ben Gvir voiced his fear that the Likud party will join forces with centrist leader Benny Gantz, sidelining the far-right alliance.
The outlet says one of the reasons Ben Gvir and Smotrich have joined forces is to minimize Netanyahu’s ability to form a coalition without them, since they don’t trust the opposition leader, who has been known to make pre-election promises only to break them later.
The report says that contrary to previous reports, Ben Gvir and Smotrich didn’t meet each other at Netanyahu’s residence on Friday, but rather held separate meetings with the Likud leader.
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