Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election
Polling suggests the Otzma Yehudit Party may win between seven and ten Knesset seats, influencing future government coalitions.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand rising with the populist right across the globe?
Photograph: Internewscast (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Polling ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 election projects Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party could win seven to ten seats in the 120-member Knesset.
- This result could make any future government led by Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party dependent on Ben-Gvir's support.
- Ben-Gvir, as Israel's National Security Minister, oversees the Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service, and civilian firearms licensing.
- His platform includes the death penalty for murderers and broader gun rights for Jewish Israelis, according to Yishai Fleisher, an international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
45/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
30/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Polling indicates that Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party may secure between seven and ten seats in Israel's 120-member Knesset in the election scheduled for October 27. This projection suggests that any future government formed by Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party could rely on Ben-Gvir's backing, potentially positioning him to claim senior ministerial roles.
Ben-Gvir currently serves as Israel's National Security Minister, overseeing portfolios including the Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service, and the civilian firearms licensing authority. His political rise is seen by some reports as part of a broader trend of increasing influence for hardline and populist parties across Europe and the West, with comparisons drawn to figures like Marine Le Pen in France and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands.
Disagreement on Ben-Gvir's impact
Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron and a candidate on the Otzma Yehudit list, described Ben-Gvir's platform as centered on law and order, including the death penalty for murderers and expanded gun rights for Jewish Israelis. Fleisher also linked immigration to extremism in Europe and stated Israelis aim to prevent similar issues. However, former Israeli Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon argued that Ben-Gvir's statements have damaged Israel's international standing, portraying it as a racist country and making it a pariah state. Ayalon also contended that Israel has become less secure internally under Ben-Gvir due to rising crime.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports printed below mention the specific date of the election, only that it is scheduled for October 27. No left-rated outlet ran this story.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 25 Oct 2026, 21:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election
U-S-NEWS.COM — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- Internewscast led with polling projections for Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party, stating it could win seven to ten Knesset seats and influence a future Netanyahu-led coalition. The report noted Ben-Gvir's role as National Security Minister, overseeing police, prisons, and firearms licensing. It also contextualised his rise within a global trend of populist parties gaining influence, citing examples from France, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, and Germany. The outlet quoted Yishai Fleisher comparing Ben-Gvir to a 'Texan' in terms of law and order, and also included criticism from former Ambassador Danny Ayalon, who described Ben-Gvir's statements as making Israel a 'pariah state'.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Reports from U-S-NEWS.COM, The Beltway Report, nytimespost.com, democraticaccent.com, and Fox News all highlighted polling that projected Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party could win seven to ten seats in the upcoming election, potentially giving him leverage over a Netanyahu-led government. These outlets noted Ben-Gvir's position as National Security Minister and his control over police, prisons, and firearms licensing. They also referenced Yishai Fleisher's characterisation of Ben-Gvir's platform, including the death penalty for murderers and broader gun rights for Jewish Israelis, and his views on immigration. Criticism from Danny Ayalon regarding Ben-Gvir's impact on Israel's international standing was also present in some reports. U-S-NEWS.COM additionally mentioned Ben-Gvir's 2007 conviction for supporting a terrorist organization and inciting racism, noting his campaign's explanation that it stemmed from displaying a sticker of Rabbi Meir Kahane. This report also detailed Fleisher's claims of Ben-Gvir tripling firearms licenses, establishing rapid-response teams, and overhauling the prison system, as well as the Knesset's approval of a death-penalty law. The potential for an uncertain alliance with Netanyahu was also explored, with a mention of recent public exchanges and Ayalon's assessment of Netanyahu's strategic use of Ben-Gvir.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election biased?
- Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Itamar Ben-Gvir's party could hold balance of power in Israel election?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many seats could Itamar Ben-Gvir's party win in the election?
- Polling ahead of Israel's October 27 election projects that Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit Party could win between seven and ten seats in the 120-member Knesset. This outcome could significantly influence the formation of the next government.
- What is Itamar Ben-Gvir's role in the current Israeli government?
- Itamar Ben-Gvir currently serves as Israel's National Security Minister. In this capacity, he oversees key security bodies including the Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service, and the authority responsible for civilian firearms licensing.
- What are some of the key policy positions associated with Itamar Ben-Gvir?
- According to Yishai Fleisher, an international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron, Ben-Gvir's platform includes advocating for the death penalty for murderers and expanding gun rights for Jewish Israelis. He also supports stricter prison conditions.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
1Right
5- POLITICS: Ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 Vote, Ben-Gvir’s Hardline Party Could Hold the Balance of Power – The Beltway Report (opens U-S-NEWS.COM in a new tab)
U-S-NEWS.COM — is U-S-NEWS.COM biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 Vote, Ben-Gvir’s Hardline Party Could Hold the Balance of Power (opens The Beltway Report in a new tab)
The Beltway Report — is The Beltway Report biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand rising with the populist right across the globe? - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand rising with the populist right across the globe? – Democratic Accent (opens democraticaccent.com in a new tab)
democraticaccent.com — is democraticaccent.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand rising with the populist right across the globe? (opens Fox News in a new tab)
Not rated
2- Who Is Itamar Ben-Gvir? Israel’s Far-Right Firebrand Rising With the Global Populist Right (opens NewsFinale in a new tab)
NewsFinale — is NewsFinale biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Who is Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli firebrand rising with the populist right across the globe? (opens WWBL in a new tab)
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