Israeli Opposition Leaders Plan Exit Offer for Benny Gantz

With just 33 days until election day, leaders of Israel's "change bloc" are preparing a proposal for Benny Gantz, offering him a "dignified exit" from the Knesset race. This move stems from growing concerns within the bloc that Gantz's party is failing to pass the electoral threshold, according to Channel 13 news. Sources within the bloc expressed worry that Gantz's continued candidacy is troubling party leaders and that they wish to prevent "a single vote from being wasted."

A meeting is scheduled for this weekend involving Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan to discuss the proposal and coordinate next steps with Gantz. Lapid, the opposition leader, announced he would host the meeting at his Tel Aviv home on Saturday evening. The attendees will include former Prime Minister Bennett, Eisenkot, Lieberman, and Golan, with the stated purpose of discussing "coordination of joint actions going forward."

This comes amid internal friction, as Eisenkot recently criticized Bennett and Lieberman, stating they were "harming the bloc's chances of winning." Eisenkot argued that they were wrong not to establish "basic rules and principles for choosing the candidate for prime minister" and expressed disapproval of the idea that the prime minister would be decided after the election in a "backroom deal."

Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party responded, urging Eisenkot to clarify his post-election partners. A small number of individuals were briefed on a conversation between Bennett and Lieberman, where, according to sources close to them, they discussed potentially committing before the election not to join a government led by a candidate attempting to form a coalition with Mansour Abbas's party. This was reportedly intended as a message to Eisenkot. Bennett's office denied this, calling it a "complete lie" and stating the topic was never raised. Lieberman's office stated he is not holding discussions on government formation until after the election.