Benny Gantz

Rule Changes

Withdrew Blue and White from the October 27 election

Final results from the October 27 election give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats and the opposition bloc 48, with Arab-led parties on a record 19. No side has the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, so coalition talks are under way.

Updated Yesterday

Force in Play

Out of the race; Blue and White was absent from the October 27 ballot, and he urged supporters to vote anyway

Blue and White finished withdrawing from the October 27 election on October 21, when every candidate on Benny Gantz's list signed resignation papers and the Central Elections Committee confirmed the party will not compete. Its ballot slips, printed with the letters "Ken," will not be handed out and are marked with an X on polling-station posters. Any slips found during the count, including at military and overseas polling stations, will be ruled invalid.

Updated 2 days ago

Rule Changes

Welcomed Together merger; National Unity remains a separate party

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former Israeli prime ministers, briefly removed Benjamin Netanyahu from power in 2021. On April 26, they announced a merger of their parties into a slate called 'Together, Led by Bennett.' Netanyahu responded within hours. He posted a video showing the pair's 2021 coalition-signing ceremony with Arab party leader Mansour Abbas, captioned 'They did it once, they will do it again.'

Updated May 31