Opposition Lawmaker Slams Benny Gantz Over Election Campaign Spending

Member of Knesset Yulia Malinovsky of the Yisrael Beiteinu party sharply criticized Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz on Tuesday for his decision to continue his run for the upcoming elections, despite his party's low standing in opinion polls. Malinovsky alleged on her X account that Gantz is poised to waste 15 million shekels of public funds on a campaign she believes has no chance of success.

Malinovsky stated that Gantz and anyone "with eyes to see" are aware of the polls and the reality that Blue and White has no chance of passing the electoral threshold. She accused him of planning to spend millions from party funding on advertising and public relations, knowing he has no chance, driven by personal whims and ego.

She concluded her remarks with a strong insinuation, saying, "This isn't money laundering on a criminal level, but it is laundering in the public sense, because I believe there are many interested parties who will profit from the millions Gantz is distributing from all our taxes. It's not criminal, but it's terribly smelly."

In response, Blue and White stated that their party intends to form a broad, Zionist government and speaks truthfully to the public, unlike Yisrael Beiteinu, which they called "the most corrupt party in Israel's history." They accused Yisrael Beiteinu of attempting to deceive the public to form a government supported by Arab parties, calling it one of the greatest deceptions in Israeli political history. Blue and White also brought up past investigations and imprisonments of Yisrael Beiteinu leaders, telling Malinovsky to "wipe the butter" from her mouth, implying she was being disingenuous.