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Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Winter tells Ben Gvir to ‘grow up’ after minister rules out surplus-vote deal
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Former IDF general Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party lashes out at Itamar Ben Gvir, chair of Otzma Yehudit, for refusing to sign a surplus-vote agreement between the parties.
The far-right Ben Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, dismissed the idea earlier today. Surplus-vote agreements allow parties to pool leftover votes in the allocation of the Knesset’s final seats after the October 27 election, potentially helping one gain an additional seat.
Ben Gvir called Winter “Bennett 2.” That epithet, used by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, implies that Winter will ally with anti-Netanyahu parties despite being right-wing.
People of Israel slams Ben Gvir following his statement.
“Itamar, grow up. People are fed up with the gimmicks, the rhetoric and this way of doing things,” the party says.
“Just a moment ago, you said these elections were fateful and now you’re announcing that you’ll throw votes in the trash,” it adds, accusing Ben Gvir of running a “dishonest campaign” against a fellow right-winger.
“Instead of defeating our enemies, you’re busying yourself with an unsuccessful attempt to destroy your brothers,” the party says, arguing that Ben Gvir’s approach will only harm the right-wing camp.
Otzma Yehudit is polling at around six seats, while People of Israel has been hovering around the electoral threshold, raising the possibility that it will not win enough votes to enter the Knesset. Parties have until October 16 to submit their surplus-vote agreements.
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