Before Knesset Elections: Smotrich and Feiglin Unite on a Single List

Israel’s "Religious Zionism" party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, and leader of the "Identity" party, Moshe Feiglin, have agreed to contest the upcoming Knesset elections on a single list, in an effort to unite right-wing voting blocs less than two months before the election.

The Israeli Channel 12 reported that "Smotrich and Feiglin will sign an agreement this Tuesday evening to run together in the upcoming elections."

Smotrich cut short his tour in southern Israel following a "significant political development," according to a party statement, and headed straight to the party headquarters after finalizing the agreement details.

Under the agreement, Feiglin will secure the second position on the list, along with the eighth, tenth, and eleventh spots, following the unification of the two parties' ranks.

The Israeli channel noted that the two parties will jointly work to bring in Ofer Finkelstein, who founded the "People of Israel" party last week, whose entry into the electoral race has damaged the right-wing bloc in Israel.

After Finkelstein announced his intention to run in the upcoming elections under his own party's list, opinion polls showed that Smotrich’s party would fail to surpass the electoral threshold needed to enter the Knesset—potentially wasting tens of thousands of votes from Israel’s right-wing base.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to convince leader of the "Jewish Power" party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to join Smotrich in a joint list failed, jeopardizing the chances of both parties succeeding together in the upcoming elections.

According to the latest opinion polls conducted by Israeli media, neither Smotrich’s nor Feiglin’s party has reached the electoral threshold required for independent entry into the Knesset, prompting them to form a joint alliance that would grant their combined list five seats, according to polling data.

Same polls indicate that if Smotrich’s and Feiglin’s parties merge into a single list, Finkelstein’s party would likely fall below the required electoral threshold, pressuring him to accept running in a three-party coalition with the two parties.

A three-party alliance on a single list would prevent fragmentation of right-wing votes in Israel, which is experiencing a significant decline in public support compared to the opposition bloc, known as the "Change" coalition.