Ben-Gvir demands Defense Ministry, Tally Gotliv for justice minister in next gov’t

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced on Tuesday that he would demand to be defense minister in the next government and called for MK Tally Gotliv to be justice minister following the upcoming October elections.

Ben-Gvir leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit party and recently added Gotliv to the second slot on his list after she left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party.

Speaking at a campaign event in Jerusalem, Ben-Gvir laid out the main issues he would seek to advance as defense minister if he were to receive the portfolio in the next government.

Among the main issues he listed was "encouraging voluntary emigration from Gaza and the West Bank.”

He also called for “disarming the Palestinian Authority of its weapons and arresting senior supporters of terrorism.”

Otzma Yehudit seeks to fire attorney-general in new government

Netanyahu’s current coalition with Otzma Yehudit promoted a polarizing judicial reform agenda in 2023 amid an ongoing rift with the judiciary, which led to large, widespread demonstrations.

Although the reform was not passed during the government’s term, a controversial bill that seeks to significantly weaken the attorney-general’s power to influence and have oversight over the government was passed by the Knesset in July.

Otzma Yehudit stated that, as justice minister, Gotliv would focus on immediately firing the attorney-general as the first step in forming the next government. The party also said she would work to advance other measures aimed at reducing the power of the State Attorney’s Office.

Another aspect of the plan would be to reform the legal treatment of criminal organizations and terrorists by toughening sentences and creating greater deterrence through punishment, the party stated.

Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party has been a key partner in Netanyahu’s coalition and has recently been polling at around eight seats.

One condition of Otzma Yehudit’s coalition agreements with Netanyahu after the last elections was a law mandating the death penalty for terrorists. The controversial legislation, which is largely aimed at Palestinians convicted of terror offenses, was passed in March 2026.

As National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir also led reforms in Israel’s prison service, significantly worsening conditions for Palestinian inmates, arguing that both the death penalty and harsher prison conditions create deterrence.