Blue and White, Yisrael Beiteinu Trade Barbs Over Election Campaign Spending

A sharp political dispute erupted between Israel Resilience Party (Blue and White) and Yisrael Beiteinu over Benny Gantz's decision to run in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections, despite his party's low polling numbers. Yisrael Beiteinu MK Yulia Malinovsky criticized Gantz's move as politically unjustified and a waste of millions in public party funding. "Gantz's run is not only pathetic, but it also wastes the money of Israeli citizens," she stated, adding that Gantz and others are aware of the polls and the party's slim chances of passing the electoral threshold. Malinovsky alleged that Gantz plans to spend 15 million shekels on campaign advertising, driven by personal ego, and that various interested parties stand to profit. While she stopped short of accusing Gantz of a criminal offense, she described the situation as "smelling very bad" in a public sense.

Blue and White responded with an equally fierce attack on Yisrael Beiteinu and its leader, Avigdor Lieberman. The party asserted its commitment to forming a broad, Zionist government and speaking truthfully to the public, contrasting this with Yisrael Beiteinu, which it labeled "the most corrupt party in Israel's history." Blue and White further accused Yisrael Beiteinu of seeking to form a government reliant on the support of Arab parties, calling it a "despicable attempt to commit fraud and breach of trust." The party also claimed Lieberman pushed in 2020 for a government with Balad and intends to do so again. In a personal message to Malinovsky, Blue and White advised her to "wipe the butter off your mouth," referencing a Hebrew idiom, and pointed out that Yisrael Beiteinu has had numerous senior officials investigated and imprisoned.