Ahead of the Likud primaries, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of Otzma Yehudit, revealed on 103FM on Sunday that no fewer than eight senior Likud figures, including four serving ministers, asked to join his party.

“Four serving ministers and four serving MKs approached me and asked me to reserve spots for them. They see Otzma’s polls, they saw how strong we are, and they wanted to join,” Ben Gvir said.

So why didn’t they join? “I also have a lot of friends from high school. Maybe I should put them on the list too?” Ben Gvir responded. “It’s not the same thing. Likud is Likud, Otzma is Otzma. I wish them success in Likud.”

Ben Gvir also mentioned Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, a former Otzma Yehudit member who announced last week that he is running in the Likud primary after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approved a waiver shortening his required membership period. Ben Gvir spoke highly of Almog’s work but criticized his defection to the Likud.

“Almog Cohen is in Likud. I did him a favor by not declaring him a breakaway MK,” he said. “He would have been someone taking a Knesset seat from one party to another. Almog is a good MK, and I wish him success.”

Ben Gvir said that during negotiations to unite his slate with Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party, he insisted that Cohen be given a realistic spot on the list.

“Smotrich didn’t want someone without a kippah, and I said, ‘Absolutely not. My parents don’t wear kippas.’ The negotiations almost blew up over it. After I fought so hard for Almog—to take my Knesset seat and transfer it to Likud? That’s not how you behave.”

Cohen’s entry into the race received significant backing from Netanyahu. In a joint video released by the two, the prime minister welcomed Cohen’s official entry into Likud.

“Almog, I’m happy today to officially welcome you into the ranks of Likud. A shortened qualifying period — he’s a fighter, a man of the Negev,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also mentioned Cohen’s campaign to advance the construction of an airport in the Negev: “He drove me crazy to get the airport in the Negev — well done.”

Cohen’s last-minute entry into the primaries, just four days before voting begins, puts him at a significant disadvantage. Likud primaries traditionally depend heavily on months of groundwork, including building ties with party members, securing spots on recommendation lists and forging agreements with other candidates. Cohen has little time to establish those networks.

At the same time, he enters the race with considerable public recognition, a strong base of support in the south, and Netanyahu’s public backing.

In addition, Cohen is known for his heroic actions on October 7, 2023. When the massacre began, Cohen, an Ofakim resident and former Yasam special patrol officer, armed himself and joined police officers, security personnel, and civilians in fighting the terrorists who had infiltrated the city.

“On that cursed morning, my friends and I fought them,” Cohen said in the video message announcing his run in the Likud. “We saw evil with our own eyes. And I tell you — there are many more like them out there.”

“My mission is very simple: to reach them in their homes before they reach us, before they reach the children. Your children are like my children.”

“You know me very well. I am here for you to my last drop of blood. I would not hesitate to sacrifice my life for you and for this wonderful nation. I would do it another hundred times, because it is the greatest right and privilege.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)