Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is changing his election strategy, focusing on voters who support smaller right-wing parties rather than trying to persuade their leaders to withdraw from the race, as he seeks to maximize support for his political bloc ahead of the elections.
The assessment is that Netanyahu's primary concern is remaining prime minister, even if it means parting ways with existing political partners, as he may be prepared to consider forming a unity government while excluding National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit head Itamar Ben-Gvir.
After efforts to persuade People of Israel’s Ofer Winter and Moti Leitner, chairman of the Haredi Public party, to withdraw from the race proved unsuccessful, Likud is seeking to draw their supporters back to parties within the right-wing bloc.
According to assessments, Netanyahu believes he can win the elections but understands the key lies in maximizing votes within his own bloc, rather than necessarily attracting voters from the bloc seeking to replace him.
Accordingly, the current campaign targets right-wing voters who might support smaller parties but instead vote for Likud, Religious Zionist Party, or Otzma Yehudit.
"Until he sees success," a source familiar with the details added.
From Netanyahu's perspective, voters from the anti-Netanyahu bloc who support Winter's People of Israel or Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha's Reservists-Economic Party are not the target audience.
Instead, the effort is focused on voters who identify with the Right, whose votes may fail to translate into Knesset seats if the parties they support do not cross the electoral threshold.
Netanyahu, Smotrich intensify attacks on People of Israel, Haredi Public Party
As part of the strategic shift, Netanyahu and RZP chairman Bezalel Smotrich have intensified their criticism of Winter and Leitner, accusing them of irresponsibility and of jeopardizing the right-wing bloc's chances of securing a Knesset majority.
Their messaging also warns against a repeat of the 1992 elections, when a split in the right-wing vote cost the bloc power.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Netanyahu again warned of a similar scenario.
This time, however, the message is not necessarily directed at the party leaders in the hope that they will withdraw from the race. Instead, it targets their voters, urging them to abandon lists that may fail to cross the electoral threshold and support parties with a realistic chance of entering the Knesset.