Overview
- Gantz announced his withdrawal on Monday after repeated polls showed Blue and White polling below the 3.25 percent electoral threshold required to win Knesset seats.
- The party will remain on ballots because the election list‑removal deadline has passed, so votes for Blue and White will only convert to seats if the list crosses the threshold.
- Opposition leaders including Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan welcomed Gantz’s move and are urging his supporters to back larger opposition lists to avoid wasting votes.
- Analysts say the rapid exit, eight days before voting, is likely to boost vote totals for bigger parties and could alter which bloc can form a governing coalition.
- Gantz is a former IDF chief of staff who has shifted between alliances since 2019, and his decision follows party fragmentation and the rise of rival Zionist lists that reshaped the final campaign dynamics.