The day was dominated by Itamar Ben Gvir's final refusal to merge Otzma Yehudit with Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party, despite Netanyahu's urgent calls for right-wing unity. Ben Gvir's decision, described as 'final and absolute', came as Ofer Winter's new party threatens to split the right-wing vote. Netanyahu summoned both leaders to a meeting, but Ben Gvir rejected the invitation, drawing scathing criticism from Likud. Concurrently, the IDF carried out a rare airstrike in Jenin, killing a senior Hamas operative, Qais Bitwani, and two others. The strike was widely covered and came amid warnings from the IDF chief about potential loss of control in the West Bank. The US-Iran standoff continued, with Trump declaring the Strait of Hormuz open and reports of a shift in the June MoU terms.
