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Benny Gantz drops out of race days before the Israeli election
Four years ago, Gantz was seen as Netanyahu's chief rival. Now, however, it was unclear whether his party would even reach the electoral threshold
Benny Gantz said on Monday he is dropping out of the race with just eight days to go until Israelis head to the polls to elect a new parliament.
Gantz, who is a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff, had in past elections been the leading contender to unseat Netanyahu. But in the 2026 elections, his party is among the smaller parties, with recent polling placing him below the electoral threshold.
He told reporters that “with a heavy heart and from a place of responsibility, I decided tonight to withdraw my candidacy for the 26th Knesset.
“I have served the country for almost 50 years, as a soldier of Israel. I have never abandoned a battle, and even in the battle for unity – I do not turn my back,.” he said.
Gantz argued last month in an op-ed for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that unity among Zionist parties was critical in part to stop the erosion of support for Israel in the international arena.
His Blue and White Party was considered to be one of the parties that could join either the right-wing bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the opposition bloc headed by Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar Party. In the last election, Gantz and Eisenkot were in the same party.
Gantz on Monday night called on the Netanyahu- and Eisenkot-led blocs to join forces in a unity government to avoid a situation where neither side was able to form a coalition, a situation that would force the country back into another election cycle.
“I am still convinced that our path is the right one. That there is a need for a Zionist unity government with both blocs, that is greater than any person or party, and it is the only solution in light of the challenges, dangers, and also opportunities facing the people of Israel,” Gantz said.
He thanked the people of Israel for giving him the privilege to serve them. “I have always been, and forever will be – a soldier of Israel, above all,” he said.
Gantz’s departure is expected to improve the vote count in the Eisenkot-led bloc.
Members of the opposition, or “change” bloc thanked Gantz, among them Eisenkot in a post on X, former prime minister Yair Lapid of the B’Yachad party and Yair Golan of the Democrats party.
Golan wrote, “at this critical time for Israel’s future, there is a shared responsibility to ensure victory for the change bloc.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the far-right Religious Zionist Party, called on small parties in the Netanyahu-led bloc to follow Gantz’s example.
Smotrich wrote on X that the opposition was now organized so that votes would not be lost to parties that fell below the threshold, while on the right, “there is a complete lack of responsibility.”
He took aim in particular at the Amcha party led by Ofer Winter, which has been hovering at the threshold. Small right-wing parties, he said, are “endangering the State of Israel” by helping bring in a left-wing government.
He called on Winter and “his friends to come to their senses” and on the “public not to vote for parties that will not with full certainty pass the threshold.”
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