Benny Gantz pulls out of Israel's election race eight days before the October 27 vote

Benny Gantz, the former Israeli army chief and defence minister who once led the country's main opposition, announced on Monday that he will not contest Israel's general election on October 27.

His Blue and White party had for months been polling below 3.25 per cent, the minimum share of the vote a list needs to win seats in the 120-member Knesset. Gantz had told The Times of Israel last month that he would end his campaign if final-week polls still showed the party missing out.

A reversal

The decision marks a turnaround from comments only a week earlier, when Gantz said he would stay in the race whatever the surveys showed. In a short statement, he said he would continue to work for national unity from outside the contest.

Israeli media reported that the timing was meant to come before soldiers start casting ballots, so that their votes would not be lost on a party unlikely to cross the threshold. The party's name will remain on the ballot paper, but any votes cast for it will effectively be wasted.

Reactions

Opposition figures largely welcomed the move. Gadi Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party, called it a responsible decision, while Democrats leader Yair Golan urged opposition parties to pull together to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Some analysts said the withdrawal is unlikely to change the overall balance, given Blue and White's low support. Polls suggest a tight contest between Netanyahu's Likud-led bloc and an opposition alliance, with neither currently on course for a majority.

Gantz served in a power-sharing government with Netanyahu in 2020-2021 and joined his emergency war cabinet after the October 7, 2023 attacks, before leaving in June 2024.

Why it matters for India

Israel is an important defence and technology partner for India, and the outcome of the vote will shape the direction of a government at the centre of the wider regional conflict that has pushed up oil prices and disrupted shipping routes used by Indian trade.