PM says Ben Gvir can’t be defense or police minister after election, angering Otzma Yehudit

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben Gvir will not retain the National Security Ministry if he forms the next government, while repeating his pledge that Ben Gvir will not be defense minister — a position openly sought by the far-right politician.

At a campaign event in Acre, Netanyahu said that both the National Security Ministry and the Education Ministry would be controlled by Likud in the next government. Likud’s Yoav Kisch is the current education minister.

His comments drew an angry response from Otzma Yehudit, which accused Netanyahu of planning to keep it out of the next coalition and instead form a government with Netanyahu’s top rival, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot.

“The cat’s out of the bag,” Otzma Yehudit said, claiming Netanyahu’s remarks reinforce its suspicion that “a decision has been made to exclude Ben Gvir and Otzma Yehudit from the next coalition, bring in Eisenkot instead, and hand these portfolios over to the left.”

“Dear prime minister, only the people will decide,” the party added. “A strong Ben Gvir is a strong Israel!”

The remarks came a day after Netanyahu first indicated to Army Radio that Ben Gvir would not become defense minister, despite his demands for the portfolio. “I know he wants it, but he doesn’t decide,” Netanyahu said, insisting that the ministry would remain in Likud’s hands.

In an interview with the Walla news site on Thursday, Ben Gvir said he was not shaken by Netanyahu’s insistence that the defense portfolio would remain with Likud.

“He also said in the past that I won’t be a minister, and we saw what happened. I will get more seats, and I will be defense minister,” he said.

He claimed that Netanyahu had thanked him a day after the Israel Defense Forces eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024, saying that the prime minister told him, ‘Thank you for insisting in the limited cabinet that this would go ahead.'”

Ben Gvir was never drafted into the military, having been deemed unfit to serve due to his involvement in far-right nationalistic movements as a teen.

He has said he will demand the Defense Ministry for himself and the Justice Ministry for his party’s No. 2 candidate, former Likud MK Tally Gotliv. Ben Gvir said he would demand that Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Wasserlauf replace him in the National Security Ministry once he receives the defense portfolio.

Last month, the Otzma Yehudit leader unveiled a detailed plan aimed at removing 1.86 million Palestinians — the vast majority of Gaza’s population — from the Strip within seven years through what he terms “voluntary emigration,” but which is decried by critics as ethnic cleansing.

In recent days, Ben Gvir has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of seeking to sideline Otzma Yehudit in favor of a unity government with Eisenkot.

Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot say they are not seeking a unity government.

Both Netanyahu’s bloc and the Jewish-led parties opposing him are projected to fall significantly short of a 61-seat majority in the Knesset. Arab-led parties, which have generally not joined governing coalitions, are expected to win most of the remaining seats.