Benny Gantz's dramatic withdrawal from the Knesset race, just eight days before polls open, continues to draw reactions across the political map. While some on the left and in the center welcomed the move as necessary to prevent votes being lost below the electoral threshold, opposition leader and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid chose to pair his response with a sharp political barb aimed at his former partner's complicated history.
Eight days before the election
Lapid: trusting Bibi ends like this
Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid wished Benny Gantz well after his withdrawal from the Knesset race, then added a sharp jab: Whoever relies on Netanyahu and goes with him --- this is how it ends
"I wish him success," Lapid said in response to the withdrawal, then immediately added: "This is an opportunity to remember that whoever relies on Netanyahu and goes with him — this is how it ends."
In his remarks, Lapid was pointing to a series of decisions Gantz made throughout his political career, from forming the rotation government in 2020 through his entry into the war cabinet, moves that drew sharp criticism at the time from Lapid and from broad sections of the opposition camp. Now, as he looks at Gantz's withdrawal in the face of fears he will not pass the electoral threshold, Lapid seeks to mark the outcome as a strategic mistake that stemmed from the very agreement to sit under Netanyahu.
