Parties / Unaligned

Blue and White (Knesset faction: National Unity) כחול לבן (סיעת המחנה הממלכתי)

MEF poll average, seats

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seats now

Seats in every 2026 poll; line is a five-poll rolling mean; dotted line = threshold

Leader: Benny Gantz, Chairman of Blue and White and of the National Unity Knesset faction; incumbent MK; former defence minister and IDF chief of staff. [source, 2026-08-28]
Bloc: Unaligned
Founded: Blue and White was formed in 2019 as an alliance of Israel Resilience (Gantz), Telem and Yesh Atid; it ran alone in 2021 and with New Hope as National Unity in 2022 (IDI, https://en.idi.org.il/israeli-elections-and-parties/parties/...).
Seats, 25th Knesset: 8
Status 2026: Filed a 41-name list on 2026-09-08 despite months of polling below the threshold; no merger materialized (Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-submits-1... 2026-09-08). Earlier merger talks with Gilad Erdan's Unity collapsed; Erdan withdrew from the race on 2026-09-04.
List status: Filed with the CEC on 2026-09-08; 41 candidates as submitted to the Central Elections Committee; not yet certified (CEC approval of lists due 2026-09-27). Ballot name: כחול לבן.
MEF poll average: 0 (below threshold in most polls); range 0 to 0 across 12 polls in the window

Background

Blue and White ran three times in 2019 to 2020 as a centrist alliance with Yesh Atid and Telem, winning 33 to 35 seats, then split when Gantz joined a Netanyahu government in 2020 (IDI). In 2022 it ran with New Hope as National Unity and won 12 seats; the faction joined the emergency government after 7 October 2023 with Gantz and Eisenkot in the war cabinet, and left on 9 June 2024 (Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/urging-elections-gantz-quits-w...). Eisenkot and Kahana left in June and July 2025; Tropper left in May 2026 and Ginzburg joined Bennett in August 2026 (Times of Israel; JPost). Gantz announced a partnership with former fire commissioner Dedi Simchi in June 2026 and explored a joint slate with Yuli Edelstein and Ayelet Shaked at Edelstein's home on 20 July (Ynet, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1o0ibanme). On 28 August Gantz rejected calls to withdraw: 'Nothing will move me from first place' (JPost).

Knesset list

Order and Hebrew names as filed with the Central Elections Committee (CEC list page, 2026-09-08). Lists are as submitted and not yet certified; the CEC is due to approve lists on 27 September 2026. Party of record in brackets for joint lists. † marks names whose English spelling is transliterated from the filing rather than taken from English-language press.

Benny Gantz גנץ בנימין [source, 2026-09-08]
Pnina Tamano-Shata תמנו פנינה (פנחש) [source, 2026-09-08]
Aliza Bloch בלוך גאולה עליזה [source, 2026-09-08]
Roee Konkol קונקול רועי [source, 2026-09-08]
Rotem Avidar Tzalik אבידר צאליק רתם [source, 2026-09-08]
Alon Schuster שוסטר אלון נתן [source, 2026-09-08]
Mufid Mar'i † מרעי מופיד [source, 2026-09-08]
Malka Yehudit Oliel † אוליאל מלכה יהודית [source, 2026-09-08]
Ariel Bazi † בזי אריאל [source, 2026-09-08]
Moria Silfen † סילפן מוריה [source, 2026-09-08]
Juliana Ben Avraham † בן אברהם ג'וליאנה [source, 2026-09-08]
Monica Yael Lev-Cohen † לב-כהן מוניקה יעל [source, 2026-09-08]
Shay Zolden † זולדן שי [source, 2026-09-08]
Lily Kedar † קידר לילי [source, 2026-09-08]
Shay David † דוד שי [source, 2026-09-08]
Ben Peretz † פרץ בן [source, 2026-09-08]
Sharona Amar † עמר שרונה [source, 2026-09-08]
Ruth Shalev Vodislavsky † שלו וודיסלבסקי רות [source, 2026-09-08]
Irad Hershkovitz † הרשקוביץ עירד [source, 2026-09-08]
Nahi Yosef † יוסף נאהי [source, 2026-09-08]
David Assayag † אסייג דוד [source, 2026-09-08]
Yossi Mantever † מנטבר יוסי [source, 2026-09-08]
Emanuel Eliyahu Strabvordis † סטרבורבדיס עמנואל אליהו [source, 2026-09-08]
Tzion Rahav † רהב ציון [source, 2026-09-08]
Michael Shay Garbi † גרבי מיכאל שי [source, 2026-09-08]
Moshe Mor Adri † אדרי משה מור [source, 2026-09-08]
Yeshayahu Shaked † שקד ישעיהו [source, 2026-09-08]
Yosef Zimbris † זימבריס יוסף [source, 2026-09-08]
Ruth Valenti † ולנטי רות [source, 2026-09-08]
Amir Shoshani † שושני אמיר [source, 2026-09-08]
Michael Gottlieb † גוטליב מיכאל [source, 2026-09-08]
Yigal Even Ziv † אבן זיו יגאל [source, 2026-09-08]
Efrat Omiel Pedida † אומיאל פדידה אפרת [source, 2026-09-08]
Yasmin Arditi † ארדיטי יסמין [source, 2026-09-08]
Omer Amit † עמית עומר [source, 2026-09-08]
Roee Salem † סאלם רועי [source, 2026-09-08]
Talia Chava Amit † עמית טליה חוה [source, 2026-09-08]
Moshe Adi Rabinovich † רבינוביץ משה עדי [source, 2026-09-08]
Raz Meirman † מאירמן רז [source, 2026-09-08]
Barak Inbar Fakelman † ענבר פקלמן ברק [source, 2026-09-08]
Amir Peled † פלד אמיר [source, 2026-09-08]

Platform and positions

other	Gantz: 'A broad Zionist government means uniting the responsible, moderate Zionist MKs around the key decisions Israel can no longer postpone: security, service for all, a constitution, and public education.' He said Ben-Gvir and 'other extremists' must be returned to the political margins. Leader statement; no published 2026 platform located. [source, 2026-08-20]
Haredi draft	Gantz presented a 'draft for all' law and an agreed judicial reform as his conditions in talks with Erdan (N12, 2026-08-28). Simchi said the alliance would seek to 'expand enlistment across all sectors'. [source, 2026-08-28]
Iran	Gantz: 'Iran is never allowed to revive its nuclear program'; he stressed preventing Hezbollah and Hamas from rebuilding military capabilities. Leader statement. [source, 2026]
security	Gantz on 103FM: 'Lebanon and Israel are two neighboring countries, and we should not be dependent on others' regarding Lebanon policy; he argued a Zionist unity government of right and left is required. Leader statement. [source, 2026-06-14]
Arab citizens	Simchi (Army Radio): the alliance would sit with everyone 'except for the Arab parties in their present form', explicitly including Ra'am; Gantz's own position was not stated in that report. [source, 2026-06]
judiciary	Gantz's conditions to Erdan included a judicial reform 'by agreement' (N12). Simchi: the party would not give either side the 61 seats for a narrow government and would force a unity government. [source, 2026-06-30]

Recent moves

2026-08-05: MK Eitan Ginzburg, who left Blue and White in May, joins Bennett's party. [source, 2026-08-05]
2026-08-20: Gantz tells JPost he will not sit in a Netanyahu government and calls for a broad Zionist government excluding Ben-Gvir. [source, 2026-08-20]
2026-08-26: Gantz meets Erdan; Ynet reports Simchi talks stalled and Gantz also courting Ayelet Shaked. [source, 2026-08-26]
2026-08-28: Second Gantz-Erdan meeting at Gantz's home; Gantz on Walla podcast: 'I will not step down.' [source, 2026-08-28]
2026-08-30: Edelstein on Radio Srugim says a joint ticket with Gantz will happen: 'The answer is yes.' [source, 2026-08-30]
2026-09-02: Gantz on Kan: 'We are talking, not every conversation is a negotiation'; calls for a third bloc and national unity government. [source, 2026-09-02]
2026-09-03: Edelstein: more than 50 percent chance of reaching understandings with Gantz; Channel 14 poll puts Blue and White at 1.2 percent. [source, 2026-09-03]
2026-09-08: Candidate list filed with the Central Elections Committee (41 names) [source, 2026-09-08]

What MEF has published

Israeli Politicians Must Confront Core Issues Before Forthcoming Elections Colin M. Winston, 2026-04-27
The October 7 Election: Israel Goes to the Polls Jonathan Spyer, 2026-06-02

Not verified

No official Blue and White website or 2026 platform document located; positions are leader statements.
Whether the Simchi partnership remains in force; Ynet described it as stalled on 26 August.
Exact date of the JNS Gantz interview on Iran.
Faction count of 8 is from the Wikipedia composition table (wiki-only); the name 'National Unity' is the Knesset faction name, Blue and White is the party.