Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz explained in a WhatsApp group of close friends why he chose to enter a unity government with Binyamin Netanyahu, even though he knew that quite a few of his supporters would be disappointed by the move.
"I have a feeling that you are angry and disappointed in me ... I want to explain," Gantz wrote in the group, according to a report on Channel 12 News on Wednesday.
"There was no option for a minority government; I was not willing to put Israeli society through a fourth election; and a political stalemate would have left Netanyahu alone in the government," Gantz explained. "Most Blue and White supporters thought we should go in, provided we protect the Justice portfolio."
Gantz criticized his former partners in Blue and White, Yair Lapid and Moshe Ya'alon. "I know they agreed several days earlier, behind my back, to leave the alliance together. Up until 15 minutes before the vote, I still suggested that they pledge to go with me for every option - and that I will take the role of Knesset Speaker until we reach a solution, and that I [ultimately] want Meir Cohen to be Knesset Speaker.”
"I understand those who are disappointed in me, but the script of reality, which is more challenging than the ‘House of Cards’, forced me to act," the Blue and White chairman added. "And if this is the end for me in politics but I served the State of Israel - then I have done something."
In conclusion, Gantz described Lapid and Ya’alon as “worthy people” but hinted they placed obstacles in the way of his leadership “and especially in the freedom of political maneuvering that is always required and at this time is required even more. I will not badmouth them and maintain statesmanlike behavior despite what I know.”