Israel’s crowded far-right grows more extreme as elections near

Key Points:

• Far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir has escalated his provocative messaging ahead of elections, including an AI-generated video depicting Palestinian prisoners in harsh conditions, which was removed from social media after gaining millions of views.
• Ben Gvir, as Minister of National Security, oversees police and prisons, and has pushed for harsher treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including expanding the death penalty for those convicted of terrorism.
• The far-right political landscape in Israel is highly competitive, with multiple small parties adopting increasingly extreme positions to secure votes, intensifying the push toward hardline policies against Palestinians.
• Key far-right figures like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Ofer Winter promote aggressive settlement expansion and reject the possibility of a Palestinian state, with some advocating for Palestinian emigration from Gaza.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces challenges uniting the far-right bloc, as fragmentation risks losing votes needed to maintain power, despite his calls for consolidation among far-right parties.