Netanyahu's new partner - and who remains outside

Likud and Religious Zionism are deepening their cooperation ahead of the 2026 elections: a joint field headquarters, hundreds of activists, voter mapping, and an excess vote agreement. Bezalel Smotrich has grown closer to Netanyahu, while Itamar Ben Gvir remains outside the alliance, amid his ambition for the defense portfolio.

Likud and Religious Zionism have launched a joint campaign to "save the right-wing bloc," aiming to strengthen and increase the power of both parties ahead of the upcoming elections. Sources in both factions say that the personal relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich has tightened in the last term, especially after Itamar Ben Gvir's temporary resignation from the government following the hostage deal, while Smotrich remained in the government and absorbed the political cost. The tightening of the axis includes the establishment of a joint field headquarters headed by Israel Gantz from Likud and Omer Rahamim from Smotrich's party, the integration of hundreds of paid and volunteer activists, voter mapping to increase turnout, joint scheduling for election day, and an excess vote agreement between the parties. Last week, Smotrich held a large conference for Religious Zionism, attended by heads of yeshivas and rabbis. Netanyahu immediately approved his participation and sat beside him, while Ben Gvir was not invited. In Likud, they claim that Ben Gvir is choosing a personal campaign and highlighting the intra-bloc conflict, and that he has not shown willingness for budgetary or practical cooperation. The focus of tension is the defense portfolio: Ben Gvir has marked the role as a public goal, and Netanyahu seeks to prevent this by weakening Otzma Yehudit. A source in Religious Zionism claims that Ben Gvir is portraying the elections as an internal struggle in the bloc between Netanyahu and himself.