Middle East & North Africa
Israel: Benny Gantz withdraws from the election eight days before the vote – “I will keep fighting for unity”
Former defence minister Benny Gantz has pulled out of Israel’s October 27 election, as polls kept his Blue and White party below the threshold for entering the Knesset; opposition leaders welcomed the decision.
The decision by Benny Gantz, former army chief and former defence minister, to withdraw from Israel’s parliamentary election of October 27 has caused a political earthquake, just eight days before polling stations open. “I will not be a candidate in the coming election. I will keep fighting for unity. It is the only solution that will prevent a new disaster and protect Israel against all the challenges, inside and out,” Gantz said, announcing his decision, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The announcement comes as polls consistently showed his party, Blue and White, below the electoral threshold for entering the Knesset. The party said Gantz will continue to focus his efforts on forming a unity government “that will work in the interest of the State of Israel.” A press conference by Gantz had been scheduled for Monday evening.
A party that was bleeding members
In recent weeks Blue and White had seen several of its lawmakers move to Yashar, the party of Gadi Eisenkot, a former subordinate of Gantz in the army. Gantz had called for a “broad Zionist government” and had left open the possibility of joining a government with Benjamin Netanyahu, which distanced him from the opposition bloc. Only last week he had launched a new campaign under the slogan “Choose unity, save the country”, and in a radio interview he insisted that he does not need “anyone’s permission” to stay in the race.
Reactions
Eisenkot thanked Gantz for the “right and responsible decision to withdraw from the most critical election since the founding of the State of Israel.” Democrats leader Yair Golan also welcomed the decision, speaking of a “shared responsibility to ensure the victory of the bloc of change.” Yoaz Hendel, head of the Reservists Party and a former Blue and White figure, called on voters of the “third bloc” to turn to his party.
Opposition leaders had asked Gantz to withdraw so that votes would not be lost if his party failed to clear the threshold. The election is taking place in the shadow of the war with Iran, and the US president has already declared “complete and total support” for Netanyahu, who on the same day published a video of his call with Trump.