From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 11, 2022
‘The left is maximizing its power’: Ben Gvir urges a merger with Religious Zionism
Tobias (Toby) Siegal is a breaking news editor and contributor to The Times of Israel.
Following last night’s announcement of a union between Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party and Gideon Sa’ar’s center-right New Hope party ahead of November’s election, Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, is calling for a similar union in Israel’s far-right.
Speaking at a press conference the Vert Hotel in Jerusalem, Ben Gvir calls on Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich to join forces ahead of Israel’s fifth round of elections since 2019.
“Yesterday we saw the left unite in order to win the elections. Sa’ar and Gantz are doing whatever is necessary for them to beat the right. They know that in order for them to win they need to merge now,” Ben Gvir says, urging Smotrich to enter negotiations about a merger as soon as possible.
“The left is maximizing its power, while on the right things are still shaky. We can’t fight for months and then reach the elections exhausted — the public does not deserve it, the State of Israel does not deserve it,” the far-right politician added.
A poll published Friday indicated that the bloc of parties loyal to former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu could receive 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats in the upcoming election, enabling it to form a government.
Ben Gvir has tried to portray his party as fundamental to any Likud-led government, claiming that a merger with Religious Zionism would net 10 to 12 seats in the upcoming election.
