Senior 'Change Bloc' figures propose positions to Gantz in exchange for election withdrawal

Senior figures in the 'Change Bloc' offered the Blue and White chairman, Benny Gantz, directly and through emissaries, a series of future positions outside the government and the Knesset in exchange for his withdrawal from the election race. According to a source in the bloc, such proposals were conveyed to Gantz several times, including during the past week, but Gantz rejected them.

Behind the proposals lies the assessment by figures in the bloc that Gantz will struggle to recover in the polls and pass the electoral threshold. At the same time, Blue and White has significant financial resources by virtue of being a party that served in the Knesset, and the bloc would like to see the party infrastructure and resources directed in favor of other parties in the bloc, such as that of Chili Tropper.

A senior figure in the bloc explained the move:

"Gantz was Chief of Staff and Minister of Defense. We want to give him the opportunity to retire with dignity. It is a pity that Gantz refuses."

Blue and White responded: "There was no such proposal, and there is nothing to offer. Gantz is continuing his mission to unite the parties of the third bloc and is working to establish a broad Zionist government that will know how to deal with the country's challenges and lead to peace among us."

Earlier today, Gantz was a guest on the Walla election podcast with Yehuda Schlesinger for a stormy interview in which he addressed his former partners, pushed back against calls for his retirement, and warned against the establishment of another narrow government.

"It is not pleasant to see 'Gantz struggling', let's look reality in the eye," Gantz admitted at the beginning of the interview against the backdrop of his situation in the polls, but clarified that he does not intend to retire, and that he is the one who should be at the head of the list in the event of mergers: "The demand that I retire so as not to 'waste votes' for the camp is illegitimate. Let no one sign me up to a camp - I belong to the people of Israel. Nothing will move me from the first place, I must lead this path because I initiated the idea of the third bloc and I have the experience. I will not retire."

Gantz attacked the double standards, which he claims are directed at him in relation to his former partners, Gadi Eisenkot and Chili Tropper, for their past service in governments under Benjamin Netanyahu: "Five times I did not give Netanyahu a government, and the two times I was there, it was despite Netanyahu and not for him. The first time I took half a government, and the second time I stopped the judicial revolution. Wasn't Chili with me during COVID? Wasn't Gadi with me in the unity government? In both cases, these two friends were with me together, but only I carry the stain of having touched Bibi. Now they say 'I am going against Bibi'."

Regarding the separation from Eisenkot and his status in the polls, Gantz said: "I was the 'messiah of the hour' then, today Gadi is the 'messiah of the hour'. I wish him success, but at the current point in time, I am seeking to bring unity and prevent a civil war, and Gadi is aiming for a bloc victory. I understand his long-term goals, but I think his path is dangerous for the State of Israel from an internal social perspective. If one side wins and one side loses, the internal tension will explode: the Ayalon lanes will be open and Highway 4 will be blocked. I am not prepared to throw away half the people."