Gantz will not run in upcoming election

Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff and defense minister, joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government and war cabinet after the October 7 massacre.

By JFeed

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz announced on Monday that he will not run in Israel’s October 27 election, eight days before voters go to the polls. He said he would keep advocating for a national unity government.

“This is the only solution that will prevent another disaster and safeguard Israel in the face of all the challenges, both domestic and external,” Gantz said.

The decision comes after weeks of polls showing Blue and White falling short of the electoral threshold and after mounting pressure from opposition leaders who warned that votes for his party would be wasted.

Just over a week ago, Gantz insisted he would stay in the race.

In a special statement on October 10, he said he was “running to the end,” claimed that at least six seats’ worth of voters wanted to back him, and called anyone who said he was wasting votes a liar.

He also said he did not belong to either political bloc and launched a campaign under the slogan “Vote Unity, Save the Country.”

Last month, however, Gantz told The Times of Israel that he would end his campaign if polls in the final week showed his party failing to cross the threshold, promising that no vote for him would go to waste.

Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff and defense minister, joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government and war cabinet after the October 7 massacre before leaving in June 2024.

In recent months, his former partner Gadi Eisenkot, now a leading candidate in the opposition bloc, and other senior opposition figures urged him to step aside, reportedly offering him future positions outside the government and Knesset.

Gantz repeatedly refused until Monday’s announcement.