"Ben Gvir, Don't Topple the Right": The Battle Within the Bloc Explodes
Netanyahu announced that he would summon Ben Gvir and Smotrich in an attempt to unite them ahead of the elections. Ben Gvir claimed that the move was intended to enable a government with Eisenkot –…
Assessment
The public clash between Netanyahu and Ben Gvir exposes a fracture within Israel's right-wing bloc that no unity photo op can paper over. Ben Gvir's accusation that Netanyahu is maneuvering toward a coalition with Gantz's camp strikes at the prime minister's most vulnerable point: his credibility with his own base. Netanyahu's response, pleading with Ben Gvir not to bring down the right, reveals how much leverage the smaller partner actually holds. The coming days will show whether this is pre-election positioning or a genuine rupture that reshapes coalition math.