Minister Ben-Gvir’s party gains support among young people ahead of elections — Cyprus Mail

In Israel, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party is gaining support ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27. Its electorate extends beyond its traditional base among radical settlers in the occupied West Bank and includes young urban voters, Cyprus Mail reports.

Younger voters and new support

According to an Agam Labs poll by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jewish Power supporters are, on average, younger than other Israeli voters. Up to a third of them will be voting for the first time.

Polls project at least eight seats for Ben-Gvir’s party in the 120-seat Knesset. In the 2022 election, it ran on a joint list with two other far-right forces to pass the electoral threshold.

Ben-Gvir is also gaining support in Tel Aviv, which the publication describes as a center of Israeli liberalism. One voter linked her sense of security to his policy of expanding permits for Israelis to carry weapons.

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Balance of power ahead of the vote

These will be Israel’s first elections since the October 7, 2023 attack by the Hamas group, which marked the start of the war in Gaza. Many Israelis hold Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government responsible for the failure to prevent the attack.

According to polls, Netanyahu’s Likud party may lose about a third of its current 32 seats. At the same time, neither his bloc nor the main Jewish opposition parties led by the political force of former Chief of the General Staff Gadi Eisenkot are yet gaining a majority.

The minister’s controversial reputation

Ben-Gvir is known for harsh statements about Palestinians and promises to conquer Gaza. In 2007, an Israeli court found him guilty of incitement to racism and support for a banned terrorist organization.

Last year, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway added Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to sanctions lists for inciting violence in the West Bank. The European Union also discussed a similar step but did not reach a consensus.