Netanyahu said to swipe at Ben Gvir: ‘Needs to calm down’

3 December 2022, 7:59 pm

Edit

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben Gvir arrive for the swearing-in ceremony for the new Knesset, November 15, 2022. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

Presumed incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Otzma Yehudit Itamar Ben Gvir swipe at each other amid ongoing talks to form a new government, in which the far-right lawmaker is set to serve as minister in charge of police.

Channel 12 news reports remarks the two made in “closed conversations,” with Netanyahu saying Ben Gvir needs to rein in his fiery comments.

“Ben Gvir needs to calm down. He needs to internalize that he is the public security minister. He can’t express himself like an opposition MK,” Netanyahu is quoted as saying.

The Otzma Yehudit retorts that Netanyahu “must understand he isn’t the opposition, he is the head of a fully right-wing government.”