The crisis between Likud and Otzma Yehudit deepens: Members of the faction left the Knesset plenum today (Wednesday) while voting on an opposition law as a protest against the cuts in the Negev and Galilee budgets. Also the chairman of the party Itamar Ben Gabir He also left the plenum and held a meeting with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, During it, Ben Gvir clarified that “we are in a serious crisis” and attacked: “If the Likud wants elections instead of a budget for the Negev and the Galilee – go ahead.”
The conversation that took place between Netanyahu and Ben Gvir was short, during which they discussed a budget increase, and Netanyahu said “we will try, we will make an effort”. Sources around Ben Gvir said that a similar conversation took place between the two a few days ago, and even then Netanyahu said he would make an effort, but made no progress on the issue.
At the meeting with Netanyahu, Ben Gvir told him: “We are in a serious crisis. After all, you are the prime minister, and if your finance minister takes money from the Negev and the Galilee, transfers it to other places and leaves them with only 450 million NIS – that is improbable, it is impossible.”
According to him, “Bezalel Smotrich is doing harm to all of us, turning us into sectoral, sectoral, people who give jobs to close associates. Instead of caring for the periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, instead of caring for the entire public in Israel, Minister Smotrich is taking us to the bad places.”
According to Ben Gabir, who is close to me, during that conversation the Prime Minister listened, but did not promise a concrete solution, and only said that he would look into the matter.
According to the people of Otzma Yehudit, in the background Ben Gabir says in closed conversations: “We are in a real crisis, the prime minister needs to get into this issue and solve it. He has a responsibility as prime minister. We heard briefings from the Likud today, they talked about elections. If the Likud wants to go to the elections instead of giving A budget for the Negev and the Galilee – go ahead. We came to the government to take care of the periphery and personal security.”
In the meantime, senior officials in the coalition attacked Ben Gabir and claimed: “Itamar Ben Gabir cares more about media coverage than maintaining the right-wing government and the integrity of the coalition. In the government, problems are solved together, and unlike his spinsters, he is not the only one who cares about the Negev and the Galilee. Maybe it really is better that the government be overthrown , we will go to the elections, and the public will throw out the one who overthrew the right-wing government. The rise of a left-wing government will be on his head.”
Minister of Culture Mickey Zohar He said in the GLC: “Ben Gabir’s conduct cannot continue, it will certainly lead to the overthrow of the coalition and to the fact that we will sit in the opposition for many years. We want to reach agreements, but not at any cost.”
