Netanyahu
NetanyahuChaim Tzach/GPO

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says in a Channel 12 News interview that Itamar Ben Gvir will not serve as a minister in the government, if he is the one to establish it after the election.

"He can want a lot of things but he will not be the 61st finger because we will get more. Ben Gvir cannot be a minister in my government," Netanyahu declared.

The interviewer, Yonit Levy, pressured Netanyahu and quoted things that had been said in the past and then Netanyahu added, "Here you yourself say and understand why Ben Gvir will not be a minister and will not be a committee chairman."

He said that for him, participation of the Religious Zionist Party together with Otzma Yehudit and Noam in the coalition is proper so as not to lose votes.

When asked about the possibility of forming a government with the support of Raam, if it passes the electoral threshold, Netanyahu replied: "I won't depend on anyone who opposes Zionism, not even by abstention. I am not a partner of Abbas but a competitor of his."

He claimed that "there is a one-time opportunity, maybe once in a generation and the voters understand that the election is between me and Lapid. Citizens will ask who will bring vaccines, who will save the economy in the face of the crisis, who will face Iran, and who will face international pressure on us."

Netanyahu was also asked to address the possibility that the Yamina Party and Naftali Bennett would decide on the next government and even demand rotation as prime minister. "I think the citizens of Israel are tired of rotations, to form a full, real Right-leaning government under my leadership. I think we will win much more than 61.

"Let's see if I need Bennett or not. I think everyone understood that it is impossible to go back to two prime ministers, no mutation or rotation - it should be a unified government. I think the citizens of Israel will make sure it won't be a rotation, because I see an historic opportunity to form a Rightist government. Really why should it not be? Because at the end of this election it is a choice between me and Yair Lapid - and that is why there will be no rotation," the prime minister said.