News
World
Benny Gantz throws in the towel as Israeli election heats up
Benny Gantz throws in the towel as Israeli election heats up
Israeli opposition figure Benny Gantz abruptly pulled out of the parliamentary race on Monday just eight days before the October 27 national election, abandoning his campaign after months of cratering poll numbers left his centrist Blue and White party facing near-certain elimination at the electoral threshold.
Published October 19,2026 07:22 PM
Subscribe
Opposition politician Benny Gantz has announced his withdrawal from the race eight days before Israel's parliamentary election, several Israeli media outlets reported on Monday, citing the leader of the centrist alliance Blue and White.
Gantz said he would not run. Polls have for some time suggested that the alliance could fail to clear the 3.25% electoral threshold and miss out on seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset. Several members have already left Blue and White.
Former defence minister Gantz has again called for a unity government in Israel, one in which several large parties from opposing camps - both for and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - would join together in the national interest. Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, rejects such a unity government.
After October 7, 2023, Gantz and Eisenkot joined an emergency government. Both later left the government again over differences with Netanyahu, including over the future of the Gaza Strip.
Polls suggest that neither Netanyahu's camp nor the opposition can expect an absolute majority in the election on October 27.
