Likud and Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit clash over makeup of next Israeli government

A public dispute between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit intensified on Tuesday over the potential composition of Israel’s next government.

The latest exchange followed claims by Ben-Gvir’s party that Netanyahu could seek to bring former military chief Gadi Eisenkot into a future coalition at the expense of Otzma Yehudit, an assertion rejected by Likud.

“Enough with the deception,” Likud said in a statement directed at Ben-Gvir, adding that Netanyahu had repeatedly said he intended to form the next government “based on the existing parties within the nationalist camp.”

Likud urged Ben-Gvir to focus instead on preventing the formation of an alternative government involving Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Avigdor Lieberman and Arab parties.

Otzma Yehudit responded by accusing Netanyahu’s office of sending conflicting messages about whether Ben-Gvir would participate in a future government.

The party alleged that Netanyahu’s office had privately signalled to foreign governments that Ben-Gvir might not be included in the next coalition while publicly maintaining that he would remain a potential governing partner.

“The truth is that Netanyahu wants Eisenkot in the next government instead of Ben-Gvir,” Otzma Yehudit claimed, calling on Netanyahu to publicly rule out forming a government with Eisenkot and Golan.

The dispute has also focused on Netanyahu’s wording regarding his preferred future coalition. Otzma Yehudit argues that his pledge to form a government “based on” the parties in the current nationalist bloc leaves open the possibility of adding other parties after the election.

Likud rejects that interpretation and has accused Ben-Gvir of misrepresenting Netanyahu’s position as part of an electoral campaign.