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Otzma Yehudit

Left to right: The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan in Tel Aviv, July 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90); National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the Otzma Yehudit party chairman, in Jerusalem, September 7, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Religious Zionism party chairman in the West Bank, September 2, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 24, 2026, 5:03 pm
Election panel rejects bids to bar Democrats, Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties
All the Jewish-majority slates that faced challenges before committee are cleared to run, after all Arab parties were disqualified on Wednesday; Supreme Court to consider petitions next week
By Ariela Karmel
National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit party chairman Itamar Ben Gvir and fellow party member Tali Gotliv hold a press conference in Jerusalem, September 22, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 23, 2026, 1:31 am
Ben Gvir demands role of defense minister in next government, Gotliv as justice minister
Otzma Yehudit chair unveils plans to ‘encourage’ Palestinians to leave Gaza and West Bank, fire attorney general, loosen constraints on military and radically weaken judiciary
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu attends an Otzma Yehudit supporters’ conference ahead of the upcoming election, in Petah Tikva, August 16, 2026. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
September 16, 2026, 1:02 pm
Far-right minister panned for opposing IDF combat duty for anti-government protesters
‘In the end they won’t storm into battle,’ Amichay Eliyahu asserts; bereaved fathers whose fallen sons attended Kaplan rallies bash him, as do opposition leaders
By Michael Bachner and ToI Staff
Itamar Ben Gvir (left) and Yair Golan. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
September 15, 2026, 12:44 am
Democrats seek to bar Otzma Yehudit from election as polls show continued deadlock
Left-wing party accuses Ben Gvir’s slate of racism and of eroding state institutions; far-right party responds in kind, with both efforts unlikely to succeed; Yashar No. 2 floats coalition with Smotrich, post-Netanyahu Likud
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Candidates for Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party at the presentation of the party's Knesset slate ahead of the upcoming election, in Rosh Haayin, September 7, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 7, 2026, 10:04 pm
No last-minute mergers as most parties submit final Knesset slates for election
Eisenkot, Bennett, Ben Gvir, Winter file independent lists, leaving landscape largely unchanged; Likud expected to submit Tuesday; Smotrich slams Winter for ‘gambling’ with political right
By Ariela Karmel, Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot (center) along with Zionist Home leader Chili Tropper (second from right) and candidates Shira Shapira, Elyasaf Peretz and Shlomi Yehiav, in a photo published on September 6, 2026, following a political merger. (Yahav Trodler/Yashar)
September 6, 2026, 8:39 pm
Ditching Hendel, Zionist Home chair Chili Tropper merges party into Eisenkot’s Yashar
Israel Prize laureate Adi Altschuler also joins Yashar, tapped as candidate for education minister; Ben Gvir publishes Otzma Yehudit slate, prompting disgruntled MK to resign
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
An election campaign poster by the Unity Party, led by Gilad Erdan is seen at the entrance to Jerusalem, August 20, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 4, 2026, 9:56 pm
Erdan’s Unity quits election race as parties scramble to finalize slates ahead of deadline
Gadi Eisenkot hints at surprise mergers before Tuesday’s cut off date to submit lists, amid reports of talks with Bennett; Ben Gvir appoints Gotliv as number 2 in his far-right party
By ToI Staff
MK Tally Gotliv (left) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attend a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on petitions challenging laws against UNRWA, August 3, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 4, 2026, 1:31 am
Likud arranges to have firebrand MK Tally Gotliv run with Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit
Gotliv placed disappointing 12th in primary and 20th on Likud slate after Netanyahu reportedly sought to purge electoral liabilities; ToI poll shows Smotrich fending off Winter chill after Feiglin merger
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Otzma Yehudit chair and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a supporters’ conference ahead of the upcoming general election, in Netanya, September 1, 2026. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
September 3, 2026, 9:33 pm
Ben Gvir unveils ‘voluntary emigration’ plan to remove most Palestinians from Gaza
Far-right minister’s plan, which he hopes to advance under next government, aims at removing 1.86 million of Strip’s residents within 7 years, as he promises ‘absorption package’ to assist those settling in new countries
By Ariela Karmel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir seen in the Knesset on July 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 28, 2026, 4:05 pm
Ben Gvir refuses Netanyahu’s demand to merge with Smotrich; Likud: He’s crowning Eisenkot
PM’s party accuses the Otzma Yehudit leader of ‘burning votes’ for sake of his ego after he turns down PM’s invite to so much as meet with Smotrich ‘to save the right-wing bloc’
By ToI Staff
Ofer Winter at the launch of his new People of Israel party in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
August 26, 2026, 4:43 pm
Ofer Winter’s disciplined political launch threatens to upend the right-wing bloc
The former IDF general’s new People of Israel party unveiled a surprisingly diverse slate on Tuesday, openly challenging Netanyahu and refusing to back down under fire
By Shalom Yerushalmi
The Altalena ship burns after being shelled near Tel Aviv, June 22, 1948. (Hans Pinn/GPO)
August 24, 2026, 12:57 pm
Wreckage found of Altalena arms ship sunk in deadly 1948 power tussle, far-right ministers announce
IDF says it had no part in search for Irgun ship sunk by army of nascent state; 16 Irgun members, 3 IDF troops died in incident that became right-wing symbol; chances of lifting still-intact vessel said slim
By Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
MK Mansour Abbas (left) in the Knesset, July 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); MK Yoav Segalovitz (right) speaks at a Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting, June 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 13, 2026, 3:25 pm
Ra’am’s Abbas, former Yesh Atid MK Segalovitz confirm ongoing talks on Knesset run
Negotiations come as Islamist party seeks to shed its religious image; far-right Otzma Yehudit party claims Abbas using the move to turn Negev and Galilee into ‘Islamic territory’
By Sam Sokol
Deputy Minister Almog Cohen attends a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on petitions challenging the UNRWA laws passed by the Knesset, August 3, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
August 12, 2026, 1:15 pm
Former Otzma Yehudit MK to run in Likud primary after Netanyahu opens door
PM praises far-right Almog Cohen as a ‘warrior,’ confirms waiving tenure requirements to allow newly minted Likud member to run; Olympic medalist Oren Smadja joins Erdan’s party
By Sam Sokol
A woman walks near Tzur Misgavi, an illegal outpost in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, November 17, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 31, 2026, 12:06 pm
God, land and politics: As Israel heads to elections, where do religious Israelis stand?
Bombastic, hardline politicians have become the face of the Religious Zionist community, but recent polling shows that while core beliefs are unchanging, the group is far from a monolith
By Rossella Tercatin
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