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Netanyahu tried to persuade Winter to withdraw to prevent split right-wing vote
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought Rabbi Eli Sadan’s help to persuade Ofer Winter to withdraw from the race ahead of the October 27 elections. Polls put Netanyahu’s bloc at 51 seats and Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc at 52, while 61 seats are needed to form a government.
Before the Knesset elections planned for October 27 in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to persuade Ofer Winter to withdraw from the race in order to prevent the division of right-wing votes.
To that end, Netanyahu visited the Beni David pre-military academy in the Eli settlement, located in the central occupied West Bank. The meeting was also attended by Israeli Finance Minister and Religious Zionism Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, with the aim of leveraging Rabbi Eli Sadan’s close relationship with Winter.
Netanyahu and Smotrich presented Sadan with the latest opinion polls and argued that the right-wing bloc could lose seats because of the large number of small parties. The right-wing bloc believes the opposition has become better organized since Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party, withdrew from the election race on Monday.
Winter said he was pressured
Winter, leader of the Amha Yisrael party, accused Netanyahu and Smotrich of pressuring him in a video message he released. “The Israeli people want a different kind of politics,” Winter said.
Winter said he was continuing in the election race to offer an alternative for leadership of the right. Advocating taking responsibility, acknowledging mistakes and uniting Israelis, Winter said his party would remain in the election until the end.
Last week, Davidi Ben Tzion, the eighth candidate on Winter’s party list, also withdrew his candidacy following pressure that the party would not pass the electoral threshold. Ben Tzion said he made the decision because he feared the votes of those who would vote for him would be wasted.
In a statement on October 12, Winter said he would hold Netanyahu responsible for the collapse of the right if his party failed to pass the electoral threshold. Calls for Winter, who is part of the coalition, to withdraw increased after his party failed to pass the electoral threshold, reported at 3.25 percent in polls.
Two political blocs failed to secure a majority
A poll published by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation showed Netanyahu’s bloc losing two seats and falling to 51. The bloc formed by the Yashar Party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, won 52 seats.
In the same poll, Eisenkot led Netanyahu in preferences for prime minister, with 43 percent support. Support for Netanyahu stood at 35 percent.
According to the poll results, neither bloc could reach the 61-seat majority needed to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset. On Sunday, Netanyahu said he was not certain he would win the election and was “extremely worried.”
Netanyahu has led the government since late 2022. On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over suspicions that war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
Netanyahu has also been on trial since 2020 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu maintains that the allegations are untrue.
Source: Anadolu Ajansı
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