{"id":10805,"date":"2026-08-28T14:17:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T12:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fokusisrael.ch\/nicht-kategorisiert\/benny-gantz-the-former-general-who-trusted-netanyahu-too-much-and-is-now-fighting-for-his-survival\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T14:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T12:57:05","slug":"benny-gantz-the-former-general-who-trusted-netanyahu-too-much-and-is-now-fighting-for-his-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fokusisrael.ch\/en\/news-en\/benny-gantz-the-former-general-who-trusted-netanyahu-too-much-and-is-now-fighting-for-his-survival\/","title":{"rendered":"Benny Gantz: The Former General Who Trusted Netanyahu Too Much and Is Now Fighting for His Political Survival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the run-up to the Israeli parliamentary elections on October 27, FokusIsrael.ch is profiling the Jewish state\u2019s most prominent political leaders. This week: Benny Gantz of the \u201cBlue and White\u201d alliance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

By Jan Kapusnak<\/p>\n\n

Benny Gantz entered Israeli politics in December 2018 as the man poised to replace Benjamin Netanyahu. Eight years later, he is merely fighting for his political survival.<\/p>\n\n

As a former head of the IDF and defense minister, Gantz brought extensive security experience and a reputation for moderation to politics. Yet at crucial moments, he has proven politically naive. He placed his trust in agreements that Netanyahu viewed as tactical maneuvers to ensure his own political survival. As a result, Gantz made questionable decisions and repeatedly missed political opportunities.<\/p>\n\n

Gantz founded the \u201cIsrael Resilience Party\u201d in 2018, which soon became the core of the broader \u201cBlue and White\u201d alliance. Today, \u201cBlue and White\u201d occupies the political center in Israel and combines national security with liberal Zionism, support for democratic institutions, and a preference for broad national unity governments. <\/p>\n\n

In addition, Benny Gantz\u2019s alliance advocates for greater equality in military and civilian service. Furthermore, the alliance rejects both the far-right\u2019s annexationist ambitions regarding the West Bank and the more far-reaching territorial compromises proposed by the traditional left. Nevertheless, the party has lost much of its electoral appeal as other centrist party coalitions and their leaders compete with it.<\/p>\n\n

From General to Netanyahu\u2019s Challenger<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Benny Gantz was born in 1959 in Kfar Ahim in southern Israel. His mother survived the Holocaust after being imprisoned in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; his father had immigrated to Israel from Romania.<\/p>\n\n

Gantz joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a paratrooper in 1977 and spent nearly four decades in uniform. He commanded the Paratrooper Brigade, the Judea and Samaria Division, and the Northern Command; served as military attach\u00e9 in Washington; and became Chief of Staff of the IDF in 2011. His tenure included the \u201cPillar of Defense\u201d military operation against Hamas in 2012 and Operation \u201cProtective Edge\u201d in Gaza in 2014.<\/p>\n\n

When Gantz entered politics in late 2018, Israel was deeply divided over Benjamin Netanyahu, who had dominated the country\u2019s politics for a decade. The opposition had repeatedly failed to field a challenger who could attract voters beyond the center-left. Gantz now seemed to be that man.<\/p>\n\n

Before the April 2019 election, his party, \u201cIsrael Resilience,\u201d joined forces with Yair Lapid\u2019s \u201cYesh Atid\u201d and Moshe Ya\u2019alon\u2019s \u201cTelem\u201d to form the \u201cBlue and White\u201d alliance. The alliance was deliberately broad in scope. The most important unifying principle was to replace Netanyahu while maintaining a security-oriented political center.<\/p>\n\n

The strategy was initially successful. In April 2019, \u201cBlue and White\u201d won 35 seats in the Israeli parliament (Knesset), matching Netanyahu\u2019s Likud. However, efforts to form a government failed. In the subsequent election in September 2019, \u201cBlue and White\u201d won 33 seats to Likud\u2019s 32, becoming the largest party in the Knesset. Within a few months, Gantz had gone from political newcomer to Netanyahu\u2019s main challenger. Nevertheless, he was unable to secure the parliamentary majority needed to form a government.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>An agreement with Netanyahu marked the beginning of his downfall<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

The political crisis of 2020 exposed Gantz\u2019s greatest weakness. After a third inconclusive election, Israel was politically paralyzed and on the brink of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gantz had repeatedly promised not to serve under Netanyahu while the latter was facing criminal charges. But he changed course and agreed to form an emergency unity government with him.<\/p>\n\n

The plan was based on a rotation system. Under this system, Netanyahu was to remain prime minister at first, while Gantz would serve as deputy prime minister and defense minister. Gantz was then to replace him in November 2021. <\/p>\n\n

This decision destroyed “Blue and White.” Lapid and Ya’alon refused to join the government and accused Gantz of breaking the central promise on which the alliance had been built.<\/p>\n\n

Gantz defended his decision as an act of national responsibility during a crisis. This reflected a recurring feature of his politics: Gantz tends to view compromise and institutional stability as virtues, even when his opponents are primarily engaged in a power struggle.<\/p>\n\n

Netanyahu proved to be the more skillful player in this situation. The governing coalition collapsed in December 2020 after failing to pass a national budget. This prevented the rotation, and Gantz never became prime minister.<\/p>\n\n

The political damage was severe. \u201cBlue and White\u201d plummeted from 33 seats in 2020 to just eight seats in the March 2021 elections. Many anti-Netanyahu voters had come to the conclusion that while Gantz was trustworthy, he wasn\u2019t shrewd enough to take on Israel\u2019s most experienced political figure. <\/p>\n\n

<\/a>The centrist defense minister<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Nevertheless, he survived. Gantz remained defense minister in the broad coalition formed in 2021 by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. He pursued a pragmatic security policy, exerted pressure on Iran and its regional proxies, and supported the strategic relationships established through the Abraham Accords with various Arab countries. <\/p>\n\n

Gantz also met with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. He argued that cooperation with the Palestinian leadership served Israel’s security interests even without progress toward a final peace agreement.<\/p>\n\n

Gantz\u2019s stance toward the Palestinians reflects his broader centrist position. Gantz is neither an advocate of immediate Palestinian statehood nor of permanent annexation of the West Bank. He supports preserving Israel\u2019s security and freedom of action, but at the same time wants to maintain the possibility of political separation from the Palestinians. For this reason, he rejects the annexation plan associated with Bezalel Smotrich and parts of the settler movement. On the other hand, he is significantly more cautious regarding offers of territorial withdrawal than the traditional Israeli left.<\/p>\n\n

Domestically, Gantz supports the independence of the judiciary and opposed Netanyahu\u2019s judicial reform. Typically, however, he also participated in negotiations with the government to find a compromise. Supporters saw this as evidence that, for Gantz, responsibility for the country takes precedence. Critics accused him of once again letting Netanyahu take advantage of him because of his willingness to negotiate.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>October 7 and Netanyahu Once Again<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

The massacre carried out by Hamas and its followers in Gaza on October 7, 2023, presented Gantz with another political opportunity. Although he was one of Netanyahu\u2019s main opponents, he joined an emergency government led by Netanyahu shortly after the terrorist attack. Together with former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, he became a member of the small war cabinet.<\/p>\n\n

At first, the decision gave him a dramatic boost. At a time of national trauma, Gantz came across as experienced, reserved, and focused on the war rather than on party politics. For months, polls showed that his \u201cNational Unity\u201d alliance was ahead of Netanyahu\u2019s \u201cLikud.\u201d But the agreement led to an old problem: Gantz shared responsibility for government decisions without having control over the overall strategy.<\/p>\n\n

As the war progressed, disagreements grew over the hostages, the future administration of Gaza, and Netanyahu\u2019s refusal to define a clear postwar strategy. In May 2024, Gantz issued an ultimatum, demanding a comprehensive plan that included the return of the hostages, the ouster of Hamas, the establishment of an alternative administration in Gaza, and normalization with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n

When Netanyahu failed to meet his demands, Gantz resigned from the government in June 2024 and accused Netanyahu of preventing Israel from achieving \u201ctrue victory.\u201d But even this resignation proved politically costly. Critics accused him of staying on too long. Gantz himself admitted in 2026 that leaving the emergency government had been a mistake.<\/p>\n\n

Overtaken by Eisenkot<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

The more serious blow to Benny Gantz, however, came from within his own political camp. Gadi Eisenkot, another former IDF chief of staff, had joined Gantz before the 2022 election and later sat alongside him on the war cabinet. At first, the two generals seemed to complement each other, but as Gantz\u2019s popularity waned, his former partner increasingly emerged as a political figure in his own right. Eventually, their alliance broke down, and Eisenkot founded the \u201cYashar\u201d (Upright) party, which quickly established itself as a major force in Israel\u2019s political center.<\/p>\n\n

According to the latest election polls, Eisenkot\u2019s \u201cYashar\u201d is currently ahead of Netanyahu and \u201cLikud.\u201d In contrast, Gantz\u2019s \u201cBlue and White\u201d party is still well below the 3.25 percent of the vote needed for the coalition to return to the Knesset.<\/p>\n\n

For Gantz now finds himself facing a political landscape that differs greatly from that of the 2019 elections. Today, Eisenkot is competing with him for security-minded centrist voters. Bennett and Lapid have joined forces in \u201cTogether.\u201d Yair Golan\u2019s Democrats have consolidated a large portion of the Zionist left. And Avigdor Lieberman has a secular, right-wing electorate behind him. <\/p>\n\n

The political characteristics that once set Gantz apart are now shared by others: Bennett appeals to moderate right-wing voters, Lapid has a loyal liberal base, and Eisenkot has won over a large portion of the security-oriented center. Consequently, there is hardly any voter group left that Gantz alone appeals to, and \u201cBlue and White\u201d\u2014once one of Israel\u2019s two dominant parties\u2014is fighting for its survival.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>Still in Search of National Unity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Nevertheless, Gantz continues to defend the principle that has shaped much of his political career: national unity over party politics. In January 2026, he said he was willing to serve in another government with Netanyahu if doing so would prevent a coalition that relies on political extremists (such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich at present). This reflects Gantz\u2019s conviction that Israel\u2019s current internal divisions have become a threat to national security and that a broad Zionist coalition could restore stability.<\/p>\n\n

Ganz has also taken a clear stance on Haredi military service: He opposes laws that grant far-reaching exemptions from military service to ultra-Orthodox men. He argues that Israel cannot continue to place the burden of military service disproportionately on other segments of society.<\/p>\n\n

Yet Gantz\u2019s continued openness to working with Netanyahu remains politically dangerous for him. Many voters who supported him in 2019 and 2020 have not forgotten the failed rotation agreement. What Gantz sees as a sense of responsibility, they view as an inability to learn from experience.<\/p>\n\n

A General Without an Army<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

Gantz\u2019s decline is tragic, as his qualifications remain impressive. He served as IDF Chief of Staff, Minister of Defense, Deputy Prime Minister, and member of the War Cabinet. Moreover, he has always maintained a moderate political style, largely free of the ideological provocations that are generally part of Israeli politics.<\/p>\n\n

At one point, Benny Gantz came close to ousting Netanyahu from the office of prime minister. But eight years after entering politics, the former general is no longer focused on defeating Netanyahu, but rather on simply remaining in the Knesset.<\/p>\n\n

Previously Published Profiles<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Benjamin Netanyahu: From Puppet Master to Puppet\u2014But Not Yet Defeated – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Bezalel Smotrich: From fringe activist to influential coalition politician \u2013 FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Itamar Ben-Gvir: From Terror Supporter to Kingmaker \u2013 FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Deri, Goldknopf, Gafni: Ultra-Orthodox Minority Leaders with Disproportionate Influence – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Gadi Eisenkot: The Former General Who Wants to Defeat Netanyahu – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Can Naftali Bennett Defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu for the Second Time? – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n

Yair Lapid: From TV Star to Netanyahu\u2019s Tenacious Rival – FokusIsrael<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Jan Kapusnak is a political analyst and author. He lives in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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