Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s “Blue and White” party and Justice Minister Gideon Saar’s “New Hope” party have signed an agreement on a joint list for candidacy in the upcoming elections scheduled for November 1, they announced on Sunday evening.
Condemning extremist elements, Gantz told a press conference that both parties would begin to form a government that would be “responsible, realistic, secure and liberal.” Such a coalition, he said, would “say no to racism and no to extremism and yes to unity across the country and all kinds of citizens… religious, orthodox, secular; ultra-orthodox, secular; no to extremism. Muslims, Christians, Druze and Jews.”
“Israel deserves better,” Gantz said, adding that voters “shouldn’t have to choose between extremists” but instead deserve a reasonable and centrist choice.
This was likely a reference to parties such as the Arab-majority United List or the far-right Religious Zionist led by Bezalel Smotrich, including Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads the far-right Otzma Yehudit faction within the party. Ben Gvir entered the Knesset in the March 2021 election after Otzma Yehudit was merged with Religious Zionism in a deal brokered by then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to shore up the right-wing vote.
Gantz said that for too long Netanyahu has dragged the Likud party into positions that are undermining national unity and harming the principles of Israeli democracy.
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“We are laying the foundation stone for the next government,” Gantz said. He called on other groups that “fit our values” to join their union. According to him, its purpose is to unite “all those who support a Jewish, democratic and secure Israel.”
Justice Minister Gideon Zaar and Defense Minister Benny Gantz hold a press conference announcing the party’s merger on July 10, 2022 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
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Gantz said he believed the Joint List could appeal to “as many right-wing people as statesmen” looking for a political home.
“Since I entered politics, I have said over and over again that we are in an unprecedented and illogical situation,” Gantz said of the ongoing political impasse. [Israel’s] Date.”
Israel’s election on November 1 will be the fifth national vote since 2019.
An unpublished Channel 12 report on Sunday said Gantz and Saar have decided their party will not form a government with Netanyahu, but while Gantz has condemned the Likud leader, neither he nor Saar have explicitly ruled him out as a potential partner. in the next coalition.
In his speech on Sunday, Grant praised the outgoing multi-party coalition led by Naftali Bennett until last month, but said some of its fringe members were holding him back. Bennett’s unlikely alliance of right-wing, center-left parties and Islamists lasted nearly a year before falling apart, ultimately rocked by the sound. Departure One of the key legislators of Jamin Bennett’s party.
Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, right, and his interim successor Yair Lapid speak after a bill to dissolve the Knesset was passed, June 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Speaking after Gantz, Sarah said Israel “needs new hope and a way out of this crisis.” He said he and Gantz dedicated their lives to the state of Israel and agreed to join efforts to create a “broad, national, center-right” electoral list.
Saar also said that Ganz, who will be the first in the united party, is the ideal candidate to lead the next government.
Blue and White currently has 8 seats in the 120-member Knesset; New Hope has 6.
Recent polls, which have not always been reliable, have Blue and White around 8-9 and New Hope around 4-5.
Prime Minister Yairs Lapid welcomed the news, saying that he believed in the good intentions of Gantz and Saar.
Lapid tweeted: “Good luck to Benny Gantz and Gideon Saar.” I’m sure your intentions are good. I look forward to continuing to work with you on behalf of the citizens of Israel.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid chairs a ministerial session at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on July 10, 2022 (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)
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Lapida’s party Yes Atid participated together with Ganc’s party Blue and White in the elections of April 2019, September 2019 and March 2020. Gantz then decided to join the coalition led by Netanyahu, causing a split in the parties. They have been separated ever since.
Gantz and Sara are said to be hoping to lure former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, who is treated poorly by Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and is considered a big draw by one of the other parties because of his fame. and general popularity.
According to Jewish media reports, Eysenkot would take third place if he chose to run with the Blue, White and New Hope faction.
Eisenkot, who served as military chief of staff from 2015 to 2019, is seen as having the potential to attract voters from both the left and the right. The retired general was one of the most wanted candidates during the March 2021 election cycle and his name was linked in reports from several parties, but he ultimately decided not to run.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, right, in an interview with Amos Yadlin at the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, January 27, 2019 (INSS)
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The other seats at the top of the Joint List will be occupied by Immigration Minister Pina Tamanu Shata (in blue and white), Culture Minister Chile Troopera (in blue and white), Education Minister Yifat Shasha Biton (New Hope) and the Knesset’s Economic Committee. . According to reports, President Michael Peyton (Blue and White) and Housing Minister Zejev Elkin (New Hope).
Communications Minister Joaz Handel and MK Zvi Hauser, whose party Dirich Eretz joined New Hope after splitting from the Blue and White alliance, are unlikely to find a place on the list, although it is unclear which side made the announced decision.
It was reported that Handel Conversations With Yamina’s new leader Ayelet Shaked to join forces, according to the public broadcaster Cannes.
Minister of Communications Jaiz Handel in Modiin, December 5, 2021 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
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In a Facebook post earlier on Sunday, Handel said he has no regrets about his time in the position and believes he has stuck to his principles. “I will work hard to ensure that right-wing, statesman-like voices have respectable representation in the upcoming Knesset,” he wrote. “I promise to update you soon.”
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