Netanyahu's coalition squeeze: EU commitments, small-party pressure, and a narrowing poll gap

Ben Gvir claims Netanyahu pledged to exclude him from government; Netanyahu pressures small parties to drop out as polls show Eisenkot leading.

Netanyahu's coalition squeeze: EU commitments, small-party pressure, and a narrowing poll gap — National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claimed today (Sunday) that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office committed to European Union countries that Otzma Yehudit would not be part of the next government. [^1] Ben Gvir said a clear message was conveyed to foreign ministers and senior EU officials that Netanyahu does not intend to include his party. [^1] The accusation, made in a special media statement, comes nine days before the election and as Netanyahu presented a new security doctrine to journalists, warning he hoped not to reach a direct confrontation. [^2] Netanyahu's office has been working to pressure small parties to withdraw from the 2026 race. [^3] His office tried to arrange a meeting with Rabbi Zvi Tau, the spiritual patron of the Noam party, but was refused. [^3] Pressure is also being applied to the Haredi Public party. [^3] The effort to consolidate the right-wing vote suggests concern about vote-splitting, as a Kan 11 poll shows Gadi Eisenkot leading with 23 seats versus 21 for Netanyahu, and the Eisenkot bloc holding 52 seats against 51 for Netanyahu. [^4] Naftali Bennett gets 12 seats, while Ofer Winter falls below the electoral threshold. [^4] Meanwhile, a political struggle is underway in the opposition between Avigdor Liberman and Gadi Eisenkot over the position of the next Knesset speaker. [^5] A source familiar with the details said: 'No one trusts the other. Each side wants the key to the Knesset in its own hand.' [^5] Liberman demands that his chosen candidate get the position; the Yashar party demands it if it becomes the largest in the bloc. [^5] And MK Ahmad Tibi presented the Joint List's conditions for external support to the next government, saying the choice is 'between bad and worse.' [^6] The coalition arithmetic is becoming as contested as the campaign itself. [^4][^5] Riots in France and Italy test governments amid antisemitic undertones — An elderly couple in their 80s was attacked and robbed during violent riots in Paris on Saturday at Place de la République. The assault on the couple, in a city where 1,320 antisemitic