Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Friday that Prime Minister-Designate Benjamin Netanyahu was allowing MK Itamar Ben Gvir to become the de facto premier in the next government after Likud signed an agreement with the right-wing lawmaker’s Otzma Yehudit party that granted him an expanded security role.
Gantz said that establishing “a private army for Ben Gvir in [the West Bank] is dangerous … and will create real security failures.”
The protracted negotiations have dampened Netanyahu’s hopes of quickly forming a government after the November 1st election. Talks have hit roadblocks due to his partners’ growing and sometimes competing demands.
The accord with Otzma Yehudit signaled Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s slow but steady progress in his efforts toward forming a coalition following the election three-and-a-half weeks ago.
Source TOI/ Photo GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES