Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party, says his political partner Itamar Ben Gvir will be a senior minister in the next government.
Smotrich joined with Ben Gvir’s extreme right Otzma Yehudit party ahead of the elections.
“According to the polling numbers, as of now, Itamar will certainly be a senior minister,” Smotrich says. “This is the meaning of democracy.”
“We will receive great trust from the public and Itamar has a significant part in that. I hope we will be the third largest party in the State of Israel,” he says.
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who brokered the deal to get the two to run together in a bid to improve his chances of returning to power, has previously said he did not believe the extremist Ben Gvir was fit to be a minister.
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