There is no such thing as the Palestinian people For the leader of the extreme right-wing Itamar Ben Gvir, who talks about an "existential crisis for the survival of the Jewish people," he built his popularity on the hatred of Arabs and the call for the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland.

The semi-final official results of counting the votes of the Israeli voters confirmed a landslide victory for the far-right camp led by Likud Party Chairman and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he won with his allies 65 seats, which means that he is on the verge of returning to the authority he left 18 months ago.

Ben Gvir will play a pivotal role in helping Netanyahu return to power with the "Religious Zionism" coalition he leads, as results indicate that he will have 14 seats.

Weeks before the elections, Ben Gvir brandished a gun in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, amid confrontations between Palestinians on one side and the occupation forces accompanying his supporters on the other.

Ben Gvir brandished a gun in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem weeks before the elections (communication sites)

The next day, the far-right published a photo of himself standing next to two of his children with toy guns.

"After the riots, I am teaching children how to deal with terrorists," he wrote on Twitter.

אחרי המהומות בשמעון הצדיק, לקחתי את הילדים למשחקיה ללמד אותם מה עושים למחבלים.


מועדים לשמחה ושבת שלום!

pic.twitter.com/YjauiYqz1M

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) October 14, 2022

Ben Gvir means what is happening in Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose courtyards regularly witness incursions by settlers and provocations, resulting in confrontations between the Israeli police and the Palestinians.

Ben Gvir's supporters chanted "Death to Arabs" after the results of the Knesset elections. (Reuters)

threatens the Palestinians

The extreme right-wing Ben Gvir alliance took third place in the Knesset (Parliament) in terms of strength, after the right-wing Likud led by Netanyahu and the centrist “There is a Future” led by Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

The victory of the "Religious Zionism" coalition came as a pleasant surprise to its supporters, which is composed of two extreme right-wing parties, the "Jewish Power" headed by Ben Gvir and the "Religious Zionism" headed by Bezalel Smotrich.

After the initial results were released, Ben Gvir told his supporters, "The public voted for the Jewish identity. It is time for us to return to the masters of our country."

He explained the rise of his large party to the lack of security in Israel.

In his speech, he stressed that he wanted people to walk safely in the street and not to have "the hands of soldiers and police tied" again, the call to allow members of the security forces to use more force against the Palestinians.

inner bag

Ben Gvir previously announced that he aspires to the internal security portfolio responsible for the police, while Smotrich announced that he aspires to the defense portfolio in a government formed by Netanyahu, which caused widespread concern in Israel because of their hard-line positions.

In the press interviews he gave during the past two weeks, Netanyahu did not resolve the position regarding the demand of Ben Gvir or Smotrich.

It is also not clear whether "Religious Zionism" will maintain its alliance with "Jewish Power" after they celebrated the victory in the elections separately.

Ben Gvir announced that he is seeking to form an "all-right government" headed by Netanyahu.

The leader of the "Jewish Power" aspires to the internal security portfolio (Reuters)

But Netanyahu needs this "Religious Zionism" coalition, which the results of the vote count showed that it won 14 seats.

For his part, Gideon Sa'ar, the current Minister of Justice, the leader of the "New Hope" party - which previously split from the Likud Party - warned of the danger of seeing Israel heading towards a "coalition of extremists" led by Netanyahu and his allies.

American concern

For its part, the United States on Wednesday called on the next Israeli government to respect the rights of minorities.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that his country's relationship with Israel has always been based on "our common interests, but most importantly our shared values," according to the Israeli newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth and The Times of Israel.

Ben Gvir contributed to fueling the situation in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood by inciting against the Palestinians (Reuters)

The newspaper "Times of Israel" said that Price's statement came in reaction to the rise of the far-right "Religious Zionism" party, which is expected to play a central role in forming the new government.

Concern has also reached the US Congress. "I urge Israeli political leaders on all sides of the political spectrum to shun extremists like Ben Gvir," Rep. Brad Sherman wrote in a tweet on October 4 last.

As #Israel heads towards another election in November, I urge Israeli political leaders from all sides of the political spectrum to ostracize extremists like Itamar Ben-Gvir whose outrageous views run contrary to Israel's core principles of a democratic and Jewish state.

(1/2)

— Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) October 3, 2022

And Democratic US Senator Robert Menendez had previously issued a similar warning, according to the "Times of Israel" news website.

Death to the Arabs

Ben Gvir is seen as the phenomenon of the rise of the hard right in Israel, and his supporters chanted at the victory ceremony at dawn on Wednesday the slogan "Death to the Arabs."

However, Ben Gvir's political ambitions made him temper some of his views. Instead of "Death to the Arabs," he chanted, "Death to the terrorists!"

His name has emerged in many events in recent years, especially when he set up a tent in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Bin Gvir had previously called for the displacement of Palestinians from their land, and caused an escalation of the situation in East Jerusalem after setting up a parliamentary office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and led settlers several times when they stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Bin Gvir was born in West Jerusalem in 1976 to a mother and father of immigrants from Iraqi Jews. He is known for his extremist stances toward the Palestinians. He is a resident of the Kiryat Arba settlement, which is built on Hebron lands in the south of the occupied West Bank.

His name emerged in all extremist Jewish parties, starting with "Moledet", which called for the displacement of Palestinian citizens from Israel, through "Kach" classified as a "terrorist" according to Israeli law, to "Religious Zionism" introduced by the Knesset in April 2021 after attempts Loser.

Ben Gvir called for the displacement of Palestinians from their land and caused an escalation of the situation in Jerusalem (French)

He is inspired by the ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Meir Kahane, the leader of the Kach movement, which sought to expel Palestinians from Israel.

Kahane - who was assassinated in New York in 1990 - was an ideological inspiration for Baruch Goldstein, who killed 29 Palestinian worshipers in Hebron in 1994.

Ben Gvir used to hang Goldstein's picture in his home, but he removed it after he entered politics.

His rhetoric is gaining supporters all over Israel, and it has been observed that the proportion of young people among his supporters is increasing.

When he reached the age of 18, he was exempted from compulsory service in the Israeli army due to his hard-line positions.

In 2007, Ben Gvir was convicted of inciting racism for holding a banner at a demonstration that read "Expel the Arab Enemy".

Ben Gvir studied law, but the Bar Association refused to grant him membership due to his criminal record, but after protests he led himself, he was allowed to join the union.

Right-wing extremist Ben Gvir studied law and obtained a certificate to practice law (Reuters)

In January 2011, the Israeli news website Walla wrote that "the Central Committee of the Bar Association rejected a request from right-wing activist Ben Gvir for permission to specialize as a lawyer."

But in June 2012, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported, "Ben Gvir passed the Bar exams after a long struggle."

With his certification to practice law, Ben Gvir emerged as a defender of the extremist right-wing elements accused of committing crimes against the Palestinians, including the "Lahava" group.

Netanyahu had failed, in recent years, to obtain the confidence of this number of votes, which prevented him last year from forming a government, and drove him from power to the opposition.