Blue and White leader Benny Gantz announced Tuesday that he will continue to lead the ailing party ahead of the March 23 elections, arguing that the party "saved the country" and set the course for a political change that could bring about the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rule.
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Gantz's fiery address came as two senior party members announced they would leave its ranks. According to media reports, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi is expected to "take a break from politics," while Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn announced he would be leaving Blue and White in favor of the new center-left party formed by popular Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
In a televised address, Gantz lambasted Netanyahu, saying he would be made to pay in the polls for triggering the elections – Israel's fourth in two years.
"The upcoming elections, which Netanyahu arrogantly dragged us into, are the last thing the Israeli people need right now," Gantz declared, adding that "there was not one minute in this government when Netanyahu viewed us as partners or acted for the country's benefit.
"The light at the end of the tunnel that awaits us all in the upcoming election campaign is that in the end, Netanyahu will free the country from his clutches. He will no longer be able to sacrifice Israel's future for his personal, legal, and political future," Gantz said.
He further stated that "Blue and White saved the country," and that the party's "great achievement" will be "the ending of Netanyahu's political path. ... We lay on the fence; some would say, we jumped on the grenade. Only the good of the country is guiding me, even if I pay a price."
Casting his critics as "whiners" and "cowards," Gantz said that he and the remaining Blue and White MKs will "remain a strong and cohesive group that will work hard for the state."
Nissenkorn announced he would be joining Huldai's new party mere hours before Gantz's speech.
Nissenkorn, the former head of the powerful Histadrut labor federation, joined Blue and White ahead of the April 2019 elections and become justice minister in May when the new government was sworn in.
Commenting on Nissenkorn's departure, Gantz said, "Nissenkorn has chosen a new political home, and therefore it is expected that he resigns from his position. The justice portfolio is among the most important assets Blue and White has to preserve democracy and the rule of law in Israel, and as we have acted so far, we will also do in the future."
On the heels of Gantz's speech, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai officially launched his new party, named "The Israelis." Nissenkorn is expected to be his No. 2.
Huldai, 76, was expected to resuce the ailing Labor party, which polls are predicting will not pass the electoral threshhold come March. Nissenkorn was also seen as a potential Labor leader, but with both opting for a fresh political start, pundits have hedged that Labor MKs may seek to join the Israelis party to impove thier chances of being re-elected.
Launching his campaign with a televised address, Huldai said he could "no longer stand idly by as the country is being led by a crazy right-wing government" that has "eroded the country's core values" something he said is "threatening Israeli democracy."
"We have grown accustomed to a crazy government. ... We can stop with the despair. I'm doing this for my children, and mainly for my grandchildren. Israel can and must be run differently," he said.
Huldai vowed that his party will safeguard democracy and the judiciary, create socially-minded reforms, care for small businesses, for women's and minorities' rights, and oppose religious coercion and rampant violence in the Arab community.
Meanwhile, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that he was aiming to become the next finance minister.
Speaking with Channel 12 news, Lieberman again ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led coalition, but unlike in the past, he did not rule out partnering with Meretz.
Liberman asserted that although "in terms of experience, ability and data" he is more suitable than any other candidate to be prime minister, "Under the current circumstances there is one position that is more suitable than prime minister and that is the finance minister, whose role is to rehabilitate the Israeli economy.
"I like challenges, and that is a wild challenge," added Liberman, invoking the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.
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Yisrael Beytenu will also seek the interior, immigration, and health portfolios, he said.
Recent prediction polls have given Yisrael Beytenu seven Knesset seats in the coming March elections, so it is unclear how realistic such demands would be.
