In a video message on Tuesday, opposition leader Benjamin #Netanyahu pleaded with Itamar #BenGvir and Bezalel #Smotrich, the feuding leaders of the #far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious #Zionism parties, to put aside their differences and renew the alliance that saw them win six seats in last year’s elections. Warned Netanyahu: “Only running together will ensure that these parties clear the electoral threshold” — and thus make it safely into the Knesset in the November 1 #elections.
Were one of the two Orthodox-nationalist parties to fall short, tens of thousands of Netanyahu-bloc votes would go to waste, and with them, quite possibly, the former prime minister’s prospects of a return to power. “We can’t take the risk,” cautioned the #Likud leader, doubtless recalling the disaster of September 2019, when Ben Gvir’s #OtzmaYehudit, running solo, failed to clear the threshold and threw away 83,609 votes.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/beware-itamar-ben-gvir-rising-far-right-star-with-a-destructive-vision-for-israel/ #israel #politics #nationalism