Benny Gantz
Benjamin "Benny" Gantz is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the minister of defense between 2020 and 2022, and as deputy prime minister between 2021 and 2022. From 2020 to 2021, he was the alternate prime minister.
Standing...
Stories...
Sep 11, 2026
Lean Left
The National Unity leader and former war cabinet member is polling strongly as a potential alternative prime minister.
Labor and Meretz distrust Gantz as a centre-right figure who joined Netanyahu's emergency government and whose leadership would likely preserve the occupation and neoliberal economics.
Sep 11, 2026
Far Left
Gantz remains in the war cabinet, backing the Gaza offensive while occasionally criticizing Netanyahu's handling of hostage negotiations.
Hadash views Gantz as a fig leaf for the far-right government, lending a military veneer to policies that Hadash opposes root and branch.
Sep 10, 2026
Center
Under heavy pressure from the 'change bloc' to drop out of the race, Gantz insists on running to the end after Eisenkot reaffirmed National Unity is a four-party camp.
Gantz's stubbornness is seen as an ego-driven risk that could split the center-right vote and hand the election to Netanyahu, a core Yesh Atid fear.
Sep 10, 2026
Lean Left
National Unity leader offering compromise but criticized for not joining protest movement.
Gantz's fence-sitting frustrates left, which demands he break with coalition on core democratic issues.
Sep 10, 2026
Far Left
Gantz's National Unity party is floating compromise language on the draft bill, trying to present itself as a responsible centrist alternative to Netanyahu.
Hadash criticizes Gantz for supporting the military occupation and failing to challenge the far-right's agenda, seeing his 'moderation' as a smokescreen for the same militaristic policies.
Sep 9, 2026
Lean Left
Gantz, National Unity leader, is navigating between condemning the judicial overhaul and seeking a compromise to avoid a crisis.
Labor/Meretz view his fence-sitting with suspicion, urging him to join an unequivocal opposition front rather than legitimize half-measures.
Sep 8, 2026
Far Right
Not directly in articles, but his centrist party is part of the opposition bloc showing strength in latest polls.
Criticized for being too soft on Judea and Samaria, and his rise is a concern for right-wing voters.
Sep 8, 2026
Center
Gantz, head of National Unity, urged 'change bloc' parties to rally behind whatever party wins the public's trust, but rivals are holding back.
Yesh Atid sees Gantz's call as a welcome but insufficient step, as his own ambitions and the failure of smaller left parties to merge risk splitting the anti-Netanyahu vote.
Sep 8, 2026
Lean Left
National Unity leader engaging in security-focused critiques of the government, avoiding full confrontation on coalition matters.
Gantz's willingness to discuss security with far-right ministers blurs lines, and Labor/Meretz prefer a clearer democratic stand.
Sep 7, 2026
Lean Left
The National Unity leader and war cabinet member is under fire from both right and left for his handling of the war, as he balances military operations and potential domestic political implications.
Labor and Meretz criticize his participation in the June 7 coalition as legitimizing the far-right, but they see him as a lesser evil compared to Netanyahu's perpetual rule.