Ben-Gvir claims Netanyahu pledged to keep him out of next gov't in talks with European countries

The PMO has "officially pledged to a number of countries in the European Union that Ben-Gvir will not be part of the next government," the national security minister claimed.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed on Sunday that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had pledged to several officials in European Union countries that he would not be included in the next government following the October 27 elections.

Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party has been a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

 "I say the following with deep sorrow, after hearing such reports for a long time, but praying that they were not true," he said at a press conference in Jerusalem.

“According to verified and confirmed information that has reached me in recent days, the Prime Minister’s Office has officially pledged to a number of countries in the European Union that Ben-Gvir will not be part of the next government," Ben-Gvir said.

“A clear message was conveyed to those countries, whether to their foreign ministers or to officials at an even higher level, that the prime minister does not intend to include me in the next government," he added.

The minister said that he was "shocked" to hear about the reports.

“Unfortunately, what Likud is trying to do now is reduce Otzma Yehudit to five seats, and this, unfortunately, directly endangers right-wing rule,” Ben-Gvir said.

The minister issued a warning to Likud, in which he stated that hurting Otzma Yehudit could cause right-wing voters "to stay home."

"Ben-Gvir’s voters will not go out and vote for other parties. A strong Ben-Gvir is the hope and the reason hundreds of thousands of right-wing voters go out and vote," the minister said.

Likud party denies Ben-Gvir’s claims

Netanyahu’s Likud party subsequently released a statement denying Ben-Gvir’s claims, calling them a political spin.

“Ben-Gvir continues with his false political spin and shooting from inside the armored personnel carrier,” Likud stated.

The party argued that the opposite was true, saying that “the prime minister has made clear that any government will include the core partners of the current coalition, and that every Zionist party will be invited to join based on our guiding principles and the current coalition’s composition.”

Ben-Gvir's statement came amid recent tensions between Likud and Otzma Yehudit. The two parties had not signed a surplus vote-sharing agreement. Ben-Gvir had also previously defied a request from Netanyahu to run jointly with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party.

Otzma Yehudit also recently accused Likud of seeking to form a unity government with Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, who has been polling as the leading candidate in the oppostion bloc.

Recent polling has projected Otzma Yehudit to win approximately eight seats in the next Knesset.