This has not been a good week for Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz. After he was considered a serious contender to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he had consistently dropped in polling and recently suffered another political blow, with a wave of departures from his party and a struggle to remain relevant in the political arena.
Behind the scenes, questions were raised on whether he should retire from political life or if he was considering joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
On Saturday, Gantz called on opposition parties to join with him to form a unity government under Netanyahu, limited in its tenure, to ensure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and to prevent legislation that would exempt Haredi men from military service.
Gantz presented his suggestion in a press conference on Saturday, in an effort to reverse his downward trajectory in the polls while some of the other opposition party leaders were gaining strength, including his former ally, Gadi Eizenkot.
The idea has been brewing for the past month and was presented while Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, intensified their threats to leave the government if a ceasefire and hostage release deal were agreed.
2 View gallery
Bezakek Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Katz, Itamar Ben-Gvir at the Knesset
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
In a heated discussion in the Blue and White Knesset faction, Gantz said the party must differentiate itself from the all-right Netanyahu coalition but also from Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party's position that rejects any cooperation with Netanyahu.
He argued that, as an opposition, he must offer Israelis an alternative to the government and said that, although it was a long shot, pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to make a deal could force the prime minister to consider joining with Blue and White to preserve his government even if members of the coalition resign.
"Even if by his suggestion, Gantz would weaken Ben-Gvir and Smotrich's opposition to a deal, it would be a win," an ally said. "This could damage Gantz's image, but it could also save the hostages and the soldiers in the field."
Sources close to Gantz said that the initiative presented on Saturday was not his last and he felt less constrained by Eizenkot to consider possible alliances with Netanyahu, going forward.