Israeli party leader Benny Gantz drops out of race

(JTA) — Benny Gantz said on Monday he is dropping out of the race with just eight days to go until Israelis head to the polls to elect a new parliament.

Gantz, who is a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff, had once been the leading contender to unseat Netanyahu. But in recent months, his party has been polling below the electoral threshold.

In a statement to the press, he said, “I will not run in the upcoming elections – I will continue to fight for unity. This is the only solution that will prevent another disaster and protect Israel against all challenges at home and abroad.”

Gantz argued last month in an op-ed for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that unity among Zionist parties was critical in part to stop the erosion of support for Israel in the international arena.

His Blue and White Party was considered to be one of the parties that could join either the right-wing bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the opposition bloc headed by Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar Party. In the last election, Gantz and Eisenkot were in the same party.

Gantz’s departure is expected to improve the vote count of bigger parties and could give a boost to the Eisenkot bloc.

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

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