The meeting that "kills" Ben Gvir's campaign | Nadav Eilimlech

Prime Minister Netanyahu convened a bloc campaign coordination meeting with Smotrich and Ben Gvir, aiming to curb Ben Gvir's campaign claiming that Netanyahu will go with Eisenkot. The meeting effectively renders Ben Gvir's campaign redundant and focuses efforts on maximizing potential voter turnout.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened last night (Tuesday) a bloc campaign coordination meeting together with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Netanyahu's overarching goal: to curb Ben Gvir's campaign that is eroding Likud votes — votes that only move within the right-wing camp and do not bring in new mandates. The meeting effectively renders Ben Gvir's campaign claiming that "Netanyahu will go with Eisenkot" redundant. The main objective is maximizing the potential voter base: each party focuses on energizing specific target audiences who stay home on election day. In Likud, opposition was expressed to Ben Gvir's statement that he would demand the Defense portfolio and the Justice portfolio for Tali Gottlieb. Likud claims these are core portfolios of theirs, although in the past they were held by individuals outside the party. Additionally, Likud fears anger in the Arab world if Ben Gvir serves as Defense Minister.