Ofer Winter refuses to quit election race despite Smotrich offer, Likud pressure

People of Israel party chairman Ofer Winter vows to remain in next week’s election despite mounting pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and Religious Zionism party leader and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who earlier today offered him a ministerial position in exchange for withdrawing.

“I did not surrender in the past. I am not surrendering today. And I will not surrender in the future when it comes to the values and principles for which we entered this fight,” Winter declares in a video statement.

The statement comes amid an aggressive campaign by Likud and its allies to pressure Winter to withdraw. Winter accuses members of his own political camp of waging an “ugly and unimaginable” campaign against him, alleging harassment of candidates and their children, the hiring of private investigators and pressure on rabbis.

The party has repeatedly polled below or around the 3.25% electoral threshold, raising concerns within Netanyahu’s bloc that it could siphon votes from established right-wing parties without winning any Knesset seats.

Winter reiterates that his party remains firmly within the pro-Netanyahu bloc, but warns that its support for a future government will be conditional on advancing its own priorities, including benefits for military personnel and promoting the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from Gaza.

“There will be no blank check,” he says. “If they deliver, they’ll get our support. If they don’t, they won’t.”

However, he also rejects any possibility of him joining the anti-Netanyahu bloc, saying: “We will not take our votes and establish a government with [Democrats leader] Yair Golan.”