Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in December 2022 at the head of a coalition that was immediately described by major international media as the most right-wing government in Israel’s history.
More than three years later, two of the politicians most closely associated with that shift — Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — remain major figures in Netanyahu’s government.
Ben-Gvir serves as Israel’s National Security Minister, while Smotrich serves as Finance Minister and has also exercised significant influence over policy affecting the occupied West Bank.
Their politics, public statements and positions on Palestinians have made both men deeply controversial inside and outside Israel.
The question raised by our headline goes one step further: is this simply Israel’s most extreme government, or has its conduct reached the point where people consider it “evil”?
That final word is a moral judgement and cannot be presented as an objective fact. But the policies and statements behind the debate are very real.
BACKGROUND: HOW NETANYAHU’S COALITION MOVED ISRAEL FURTHER RIGHT
When Netanyahu assembled his government following Israel’s 2022 election, he depended heavily on nationalist, religious and far-right parties to secure a parliamentary majority.
That gave politicians who had once been considered figures on the margins of Israeli politics unprecedented influence inside government.
Among the most prominent were Ben-Gvir, leader of Otzma Yehudit, and Smotrich, leader of Religious Zionism.
Both became senior ministers.
Their rise represented more than a change of personalities. It marked a significant shift in the political direction of the Israeli government.
The coalition has taken strongly nationalist positions on Israeli sovereignty, settlements and Palestinian statehood while repeatedly clashing with critics at home and abroad over the direction of the country.
WHAT IS CONFIRMED ABOUT BEN-GVIR AND SMOTRICH?
The description “far-right” is not simply something used by Netanyahu’s opponents.
International news organisations routinely describe Ben-Gvir and Smotrich as far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition.
Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, while Smotrich has used his position in government to advance settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Ben-Gvir has become one of the coalition’s most uncompromising political voices and has repeatedly demanded tougher Israeli policies toward Palestinians.
Their statements and actions have generated international consequences.
In June 2025, Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
Australia acted alongside the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Norway.
The Australian government listed both men under its human-rights sanctions framework.
The five governments said the measures were connected to incitement of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and extremist rhetoric concerning Palestinians and settlement expansion.
Israel rejected the accusations and strongly criticised the sanctions.
WHY THE WEST BANK HAS BECOME CENTRAL TO THE DEBATE
One of the most important areas in which Smotrich has exercised influence is the occupied West Bank.
Israeli settlements have continued expanding while prospects for a negotiated Palestinian state have become increasingly uncertain.
Smotrich has openly opposed Palestinian statehood and has championed the settlement movement.
For supporters, these policies reflect what they see as Israel’s historic and security interests.
For opponents, they represent an attempt to make Palestinian statehood permanently impossible and place increasing amounts of occupied territory under Israeli control.
That disagreement goes directly to the heart of the international debate surrounding Netanyahu’s coalition.
Supporters of the government argue that the security environment following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks demonstrated that Israel cannot afford to take risks with its security.
Critics counter that security concerns do not justify permanent occupation, settlement expansion, collective punishment or denying Palestinians a viable political future.
BEN-GVIR’S ROLE IN THE GOVERNMENT
As National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir occupies one of Israel’s most politically sensitive positions.
His prominence would have been difficult to imagine during earlier periods of Israeli politics.
Yet today he is not an outsider protesting against government policy.
He is part of the government.
That distinction matters.
Views once associated with the outer edges of Israeli politics have increasingly entered mainstream government debate.
Ben-Gvir’s supporters see him as someone prepared to say what other politicians will not.
His opponents see his rise as evidence of how far Israeli politics has shifted toward nationalism and confrontation.
NETANYAHU’S POLITICAL CALCULATION
Netanyahu remains the central figure holding this coalition together.
His critics accuse him of empowering increasingly extreme political partners because he needs them to maintain power.
His supporters argue that Israeli voters elected the parties making up the government and that Netanyahu is entitled to build a coalition reflecting those election results.
But Netanyahu’s relationship with his far-right partners has repeatedly created political pressure.
When international mediators or foreign governments push Israel toward compromises involving Gaza, Palestinians or a future Palestinian state, Netanyahu must also consider coalition partners demanding a harder approach.
That tension has again become visible as Israel approaches its October 2026 election.
Current reporting shows Netanyahu attempting to manage competing pressures from international allies, security considerations and far-right members of his own political bloc.
IS IT REALLY THE MOST EXTREME GOVERNMENT IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY?
Calling Netanyahu’s coalition Israel’s most right-wing government is not particularly unusual.
The description has been used repeatedly since the coalition was established in December 2022.
Its combination of nationalist, religious and far-right parties placed politicians including Ben-Gvir and Smotrich in positions of influence rarely seen before in Israeli politics.
The word “extreme,” however, still involves judgement about where normal democratic politics ends and extremism begins.
Different Israelis will answer that differently.
Supporters may describe the government as unapologetically nationalist, security-focused and willing to defend Israeli interests despite international pressure.
Opponents may see the same policies as evidence of radicalisation, permanent occupation and an abandonment of any meaningful pathway toward Palestinian self-determination.
WHAT ABOUT THE WORD “EVIL”?
That is where our headline deliberately becomes a question.
“Evil” is not a neutral political classification.
It is a moral judgement.
A responsible news organisation cannot state as an established fact that a government or individual is “evil.”
People can, however, examine a government’s actions, policies and consequences and reach their own moral conclusion.
That is why the question matters.
When governments hold enormous military and political power, voters and the international community have every right to debate not only whether their policies are effective, but whether they are morally acceptable.
THE BIGGER QUESTION FOR ISRAEL
This debate is ultimately about far more than Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir or Smotrich.
It is about what kind of Israel emerges from this period.
Will Israeli politics eventually move back toward negotiations and territorial compromise?
Will the settlement movement continue gaining political influence?
Can a viable Palestinian state still emerge?
Will Israel’s relationship with traditional Western allies become increasingly strained?
And how much influence will politicians once considered part of Israel’s political fringe continue to exercise over the country’s future?
Israel’s next election will provide voters with another opportunity to answer some of those questions.
CONCLUSION
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has unquestionably shifted Israeli politics dramatically to the right.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have become symbols of that transformation, occupying powerful government positions while promoting policies that have generated intense domestic and international controversy.
Australia and several other Western governments have gone as far as imposing sanctions on the two ministers.
Calling the coalition the most right-wing or one of the most hardline governments in Israeli history is supported by years of political reporting.
Calling it the “most evil” government is different.
That judgement belongs to the public.
Look at the policies.
Look at the statements.
Look at the consequences.
Then answer the question yourself:
NETANYAHU, BEN-GVIR & SMOTRICH — THE MOST EXTREME EVIL GOVERNMENT IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY?
DO YOU AGREE?