Eisenkot seeks meeting with Gantz amid opposition push for Blue and White chief to quit race

Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot has reportedly asked to meet with Blue and White chief Benny Gantz, amid efforts by opposition parties to convince Gantz to drop out of the election race rather than risk wasting votes on a party that has for months consistently polled below the electoral threshold.

Channel 13 reports that Eisenkot directly approached his former political partner in recent days and that the two are expected to meet shortly. Gantz appears to publicly accept the invitation in a post on X, writing: “Gadi, 7 pm at Kfar Maccabiah.”

The meeting comes amid growing pressure on Gantz to withdraw from the race, after months of polls showing Blue and White failing to clear the 3.25% electoral threshold. Opposition leaders are reportedly “deeply” concerned that votes cast for his party could be lost, potentially costing their bloc seats in the Knesset.

Gantz has nevertheless insisted on remaining in the race even as Blue and White has hemorrhaged lawmakers, several of whom have joined rival opposition parties, including Eisenkot’s Yashar.

Separately, Gantz tells the Kan public broadcaster that he was previously offered one of the spots reserved for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handpicked candidates on Likud’s electoral slate and turned it down, which Likud swiftly denies.

“Fake news. Gantz did not receive an offer for a reserved spot on the Likud slate,” the ruling party says.

Gantz says he also held talks with leaders of the opposition bloc, including Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, but that none offered him a reserved place on their slates.

He ultimately chose not to join either camp and has resisted efforts to firmly align himself with the opposition bloc, while declining to explicitly rule out joining a Netanyahu-led government after the election.