SDEROT, Israel: Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Israeli firebrand who achieved international notoriety as part of the outgoing government, fell short of expectations that he would gain ground in the latest election.

But support remains. Under the blazing sun of Sderot, a southern city not far from the Gaza border, bakery employee Yaakov Peretz said he believed Ben Gvir would remain a central force.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “needs Ben Gvir by his side, strong and stable, with right-wing views,” Peretz told AFP as he took a smoke break.

After years of the Israeli electorate drifting rightwards under Netanyahu, far-right parties such as Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism had hoped for watershed gains in last week’s vote.

But by the time the dust had settled, they had netted the same number of seats they had before — 13 between them — not enough to crown them an ascendant force, but enough to cement their place in the political landscape.

Long seen as an unpalatable troublemaker among the more mainstream right, and convicted as a younger man on charges including incitement to racism, Ben Gvir ascended to national security minister in Netanyahu’s government.

With Finance Minister Smotrich, he embodied the most radical wing of the outgoing coalition.

Ben Gvir has called for “voluntary” emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, routine killings of “30 or 40” people in Gaza per night, and for cutting food and sanitation for Palestinian prisoners to the bare minimum.

Relishing his power, before the election he openly said he wanted to be defense minister.

But after enjoying unprecedented influence for the last four years, the far right is increasingly likely to find itself back on the sidelines, watching as more mainstream parties haggle to form a new governing coalition.

While Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes Ben Gvir and Smotrich’s parties, emerged with more seats in the October 27 vote, at 53, it still fell well short of the 61 it needed to stay in power.

The opposition camp, led by ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot, came away with 48, although it could get over the line if it decides to partner with Arab-Israeli parties who won an unprecedented 19 seats — a nightmare scenario for the far right.

LOSS OF INFLUENCE?

Yael Shomer, a political science professor at Tel Aviv University, said the election revealed a paradox for the far right, with its influence in government expected to shrink, even as its support at the ballot box grew.

By her calculations, the far-right parties won around 100,000 more votes than they did in 2022, but turnout in this year’s election was the highest since 1999.

The end result, while not a failure, still “seems like a disappointment on their behalf and for their supporters,” she said.

The far right’s hard-nosed — and often overtly anti-Palestinian — security stance has resonated in Sderot, where the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 killed 53 people.

Peretz told AFP he lost a relative who was a firefighter, killed on the road that day.

“It strengthened my conviction that you need to have radical positions to defend what belongs to us,” he said.

The idea of an incoming coalition that excludes the far right — even a unity government between Netanyahu and Eisenkot that also boxes out the Arab-Israeli and left-wing parties — has him worried.

“It’s a real concern, but we hope he (Netanyahu) will make the right decisions for all of us,” Peretz said.

Amid the spice stalls at the Sderot market, 67-year-old Susan Buskila said she voted for Netanyahu’s Likud, while her children backed Ben Gvir and Smotrich. She wants to see both men keep their places in government.

“They represent religious, Zionist youth who love this country, and not those who just seek to get political posts, money and make headlines,” she said.

FEAR OF ARAB PARTIES

The historic showing by Arab-Israeli parties — portrayed as enemies from within by Netanyahu and his allies — has sparked fears among far-right supporters.

Buskila worried about an alliance between Eisenkot and the Arab parties, warning it would lead to a loosening of the military’s grip on Gaza and the resumption of Hamas rocket fire on Sderot.

“We’ve suffered enough here,” she said.

Shahar Yaakov, a 43-year-old shopkeeper and Ben Gvir voter, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the election results.

To him, the prospect of Arab parties having a hand under a hypothetical Eisenkot-led government is “the worst possible situation” — so bad, in fact, that even a national unity government excluding the far right would be preferable.

“It’s time for unity in this country. It has to happen,” he said. “We need peace among ourselves before we can talk about peace with the Palestinians or Arab countries.”