Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to try, as he did in the previous election campaign, to create a joint run between the Religious Zionist Party and Otzma Yehudit in order to maximize right-wing votes, journalist Amit Segal reported on Channel 12 News.
According to the report, in order to soften the move and convince the two party leaders to sign the agreement, the Prime Minister is offering two reserved spots on the Likud list for the next Knesset - one for a representative on behalf of Ben Gvir and one for a representative on behalf of Smotrich.
Netanyahu’s initiative is currently encountering opposition from both party leaders, who are not interested in running together.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir believes his party can win between eight and ten seats on its own. Smotrich opposes the move because in such a joint list, he would be pushed down to second place.
To solve the problem, Netanyahu is trying to present the alliance to the two as a technical move only, with an explicit promise that they would be able to split into separate factions immediately after Election Day. At the same time, he will try to pressure them politically and publicly, to convince them to agree to the move.