The US government is likely to boycott far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir if he plays a role in Israel’s new government, according to a report by news site Axios on Wednesday.
Citing two anonymous US officials, the report said the government will work with the expected future government of Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu but may choose to refuse to deal directly with the far-right arsonist.
The site also reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned President Isaac Herzog during his visit to Washington last week that the US could refuse to cooperate with “certain politicians” – a likely reference to Ben Gvir .
After winning 14 seats in Tuesday’s elections – with 87% of the votes cast – the far-right alliance of religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Ben Gvir, should be a high-ranking partner in Netanyahu’s future government.
In response to the report, Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit faction accused the Israeli left of being involved.
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“The undemocratic campaign that the Israeli left has been pushing continues,” the statement said, without clarifying how the left was implicated in the alleged statements by US officials. “We know very well who in Israel is trying to incite Americans to interfere in Israeli democracy and what their interests are.”
Ben Gvir is a self-proclaimed supporter of extremist rabbi and former MK Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was banned and declared a terrorist group in both Israel and the United States in the 1980s. Like the late Kahane, Ben Gvir has been convicted of supporting a terrorist organization in the past, although he insists he has become more moderate in recent years and does not share the same beliefs as the Kach founder.
Meanwhile, former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk said on Wednesday that a future Netanyahu government could have a “difficult” relationship with the Biden government.
Indyk was ambassador from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2000 to 2001. He also served as the US envoy for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during Barack Obama’s presidency, which yielded no results.
Former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk speaks at the State Department as Secretary of State John Kerry announces that Indyk will chair Israeli-Palestinian peace talks beginning July 29, 2013 in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
“The Biden government doesn’t have a good history of relations with Netanyahu, and if he brings these far-right extremists into his government and into his cabinet, then I think we’re in for a bumpy road,” Indyk said in remarks, which will be aired on Channel 12 .
Obama, Netanyahu and their respective associates regularly clashed during their overlapping eight years in office as Obama sought to advance diplomatic deals between Israel and the Palestinians and between Iran and world powers — both of which were largely rejected by the then prime minister. However, Biden’s ties with Netanyahu are warmer.
— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) November 2, 2022
The current US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, on Wednesday commended Israeli voters for the large turnout – the highest turnout since 2015 – adding: “It is too early to say exactly what the composition of the next ruling coalition will be until the end of the year End to speculate. The votes are counted.”
Around 500,000 “double envelopes” containing ballots from soldiers, prisoners, diplomats and people who were unable to reach their designated polling stations have yet to be counted, beginning at 11pm on Wednesday night.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the Israeli government on our common interests and values,” his statement said.
US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides (L) and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Knesset December 9, 2021. (US Embassy in Israel)
As the final ballots are counted in the Knesset elections, all signs point to a resounding victory for opposition leader Netanyahu and his bloc of right-wing, far-right and religious parties, a result that would end a political crisis that has been experiencing five parliamentary elections in less than four years.
With around 86 percent of the votes counted, the pro-Netanyahu bloc of parties was predicted to gain 65 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, a comfortable majority.
Jacob Magid and Michael Bachner contributed to this report.
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