Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has informed Hadar Muchtar that she will not be given a spot on the Otzma Yehudit slate for the upcoming Knesset elections.
In a conversation between the two, Ben Gvir expressed appreciation for Muchtar but made clear that, at this stage, she would not be joining the party's slate.
Ben Gvir told Muchtar that he expects her to hold public office in the future. At the same time, he recommended that she use the coming period to learn how the Knesset operates and become more familiar with its work. According to Ben Gvir, such a step would allow Muchtar to be better prepared to take on a public role in the future.
Muchtar's representatives issued a sharp response, stressing that she has no interest whatsoever in joining Otzma Yehudit: "Hadar Muchtar has no desire to be in Ben Gvir's party or in any other party except Likud. None of the spins will help. Hadar Muchtar is in Likud and will remain in Likud, and with G-d's help, sooner or later she will be a Knesset member on behalf of Likud."
Muchtar did not run in the Likud primaries. Initially, she had requested that the required period of party membership be shortened so that she could run, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to approve her request.
Despite the decision, Muchtar clarified that she continues to support Netanyahu. "Thank you all for the love and support. I'm here to stay. I support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," she wrote at the time. In a video she published, she thanked her supporters and addressed her future plans.
Shahar, who served as Muchtar's spokesman and adviser, said at the time that she had expected the required membership period to be shortened and was disappointed by the decision. According to him, she had worked for approximately two years toward the possibility of running in the Likud primaries.
Shahar also claimed that figures and candidates within Likud had worked to prevent her candidacy and that she had been subjected to a "planned smear campaign by rival candidates, Knesset members, and ministers."