Otzma Yehudit MK Tzvika Foghel announced on Sunday that he will not run for the 26th Knesset on the party’s slate in Israel’s Oct. 27 general election.
Foghel, who chairs the Knesset National Security Committee, said on X that he had been honored to represent Israelis in parliament and to serve as a member of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s faction.
היה לי הכבוד לייצג את עם ישראל בכנסת וכיו״ר הוועדה לבטחון לאומי והיתה לי הזכות להיות חלק ממפלגת עוצמה יהודית.
— צביקה פוגל (@tzvikafoghel) September 6, 2026
בשנים האחרונות נתתי את כל כולי למען עם ישראל ומדינת ישראל, ובמיוחד כדי להבטיח שידה של מדינת ישראל תהיה על העליונה לאחר האסון הנורא שעברנו.
לצערי, הדרך לבצע את את המשך…
“Regrettably, the path to continue my activities in the Knesset or in the future government is not possible as I had planned,” Foghel wrote. “Therefore, I will not run for the 26th Knesset on behalf of the Otzma Yehudit party.”
He said he would continue working “for the people and the state in every way possible,” adding, “I am concluding a chapter, but the mission continues.”
Foghel’s announcement came amid a reshuffle of Otzma Yehudit’s electoral slate. Ben-Gvir is expected to head the party list, followed by Likud MK Tally Gotliv, Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, MK Limor Son Har-Melech and MK Yitzhak Kroizer.
The final slate remains subject to the party’s filing with the Central Elections Committee, due by 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
Ben-Gvir says willing to absorb sanctions to prevent Palestinian state
Meanwhile, Ben-Gvir again warned that a Palestinian state would pose a long-term existential threat to the Jewish people, speaking during an interview with Amit Segal at the Besheva/Arutz Sheva Conference in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“What happened on October 7 would pale in comparison to what could happen in Kfar Saba,” the minister said, referring to a Tel Aviv suburb near the Green Line with Samaria. “As an Israeli, I am therefore prepared to absorb sanctions and endure hardship to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” he added.
Ben-Gvir also warned that if his Otzma Yehudit Party fails to win 15 Knesset seats in the upcoming election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could form a government with Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar Party.
“I therefore want Otzma Yehudit to be large and strong, and that is what the public wants as well,” Ben-Gvir said.
