Report: Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin in talks to form technical bloc

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and right-wing politician Moshe Feiglin have entered negotiations to run together on a joint ticket in the upcoming October elections, according to N12 News. Feiglin, a libertarian-leaning activist, was a member of Likud in the Knesset from 2013 to 2015 before being sentenced to six months in prison for his protests against the Oslo Accords.

Meanwhile, tensions have escalated between National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Likud party, after he announced that his party Otzma Yehudit would not run alongside the Religious Zionist Party. The Likud party criticized Ben-Gvir for potentially bringing a left-wing government to power by wasting votes. They urged him to "overcome his personal ego" and unite with Smotrich.

This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to run together, stating that they must unite as they have historically done well when running on the same ticket, while losing when running separately.