Smotrich, former Likud MK Feiglin to announce joint run in October elections

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 17:53Updated: SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 18:36Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich and right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin are expected to announce on Tuesday evening that they will run on the same ticket in the upcoming October elections, ahead of the deadline for submitting party lists next week.RZP had hovered near the electoral threshold, while Feiglin's far-right party failed to pass it in recent polling.According to Israeli media, the two may attempt to pressure Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter into joining the joint ticket.Recent polls show that Winter's new People of Israel party could win five seats, largely at the expense of Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, which would fall below the electoral threshold.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week called on Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party, to run on a joint list, as they did in the 2022 elections.Ben-Gvir had openly rejected such an alliance, prompting reports that Smotrich and Feiglin were negotiating.Smotrich has stated that he intends to remain part of Netanyahu’s bloc in the upcoming elections.The expected announcement of the alliance also comes as a group of right-wing parties falls below the electoral threshold ahead of the deadline to submit the party lists.Netanyahu has called on voters not to support the small parties on the Right, warning that splitting the right-wing vote could cost his camp the election and allow the opposition bloc to form the next government.Feiglin previously served in Likud, led by Netanyahu. He resigned after he did not receive a higher slot on the party’s Knesset list after its primaries and founded the Zehut Party in 2015.Zehut and RZP both advocate for far-right security policies, including the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza. Zehut also supports libertarian economic policies and the legalization of cannabis.This is a developing story.Follow us on Google