Likud firebrand Tally Gotliv takes No. 2 spot on Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit slate

Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv will take the second spot on Otzma Yehudit’s slate in the upcoming election, immediately behind party leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the party announced Friday.

The placement gives Gotliv one of the party’s safest seats and completes her move from Likud following weeks of negotiations involving Ben-Gvir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Likud announced Thursday that it had agreed to allow Gotliv to run with Otzma Yehudit without declaring her a defector. Under the arrangement, she must continue to follow Likud faction discipline in Knesset votes until the next parliament is sworn in. A formal designation as a defector could have prevented her from running with an existing party in the election.

Ben-Gvir welcomed Gotliv to what he called “a family of fighters.”

“We know and have seen that you are a true fighter: a fighter against injustice, a fighter for justice, a fighter against the deep state and a fighter against those who persecuted our dear prime minister,” he said.

Gotliv’s future in Likud became uncertain after she finished 12th in the party primary and was pushed down to No. 20 on its electoral slate once reserved and regional positions were added.

She subsequently accused Netanyahu’s associates of working to weaken her in the primary and said the prime minister had “stabbed me in the back.” Gotliv later said she would seriously consider a “good, concrete offer” from Otzma Yehudit.