EASTORA REPORT | Israel’s new parliament had barely been sworn in when Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded that voters choose it all over again. The national security minister says the October 27 election was distorted by foreign interference, and he wants the results challenged in court rather than accepted as the basis for a new government.
Speaking at his Otzma Yehudit party’s Knesset meeting on Tuesday, November 10, Ben-Gvir promised to petition for another election. He accused foreign countries and overseas funders of influencing the vote and argued that without their involvement, Israel’s right wing would have retained power.
The results fell short of what he wanted. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc took 53 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, eight short of a majority. Parties aligned with Gadi Eisenkot won 48; Arab-led parties secured 19. President Isaac Herzog has asked Eisenkot to try to form a government.
Israel’s Central Elections Committee certified the results after finding no irregularities that changed the outcome. The Shin Bet security service is investigating suspected foreign funding and influence, but that inquiry has not established that the election was stolen.
Ben-Gvir also rejected Netanyahu’s proposal for a national unity government. “A unity government is a paralysis government,” he told a reporter, arguing that rival partners would block appointments of an attorney general and Supreme Court judges. They would also block his plan to encourage emigration from Gaza.
That policy is not hypothetical. In September, Ben-Gvir unveiled a seven-year proposal to encourage the departure of as many as 1.86 million Gaza residents, a plan criticized as a threat of mass displacement.
He went further on Tuesday, accusing Arab lawmakers of supporting Hamas and insisting that no government should depend on their votes. His party proposed legislation conditioning voting rights on a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Eisenkot has until December 6, with a possible extension, to assemble a coalition. Ben-Gvir, whose party holds seven seats, is demanding another election instead of a compromise.