Blue and White (political alliance)

On 21 February 2019, the last day for submitting election lists for the Knesset, Yesh Atid and Israel Resilience announced that they would form an alliance for the upcoming election. Gabi Ashkenazi, also a former chief of staff, would join the list in the fourth spot. Blue and White won 35 seats in the April 2019 Israeli legislative election, the same as Likud, and conceded defeat. President Reuven Rivlin tasked Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a governing coalition, but failed. This triggered the September 2019 Israeli legislative election. In the 2020 Israeli legislative election, Blue and White won 33 seats, placing it second after Likud which had 36. The alliance showing strong support in many areas,including Tel Aviv and Haifa. On 8 March 2020, Avigdor Lieberman gave Gantz his backing to form a new government. The next day, the Joint List agreed to work with Gantz and Lieberman to oust Netanyahu. As of 10 March 2020, it remained unclear whether Gantz would be able to gain sufficient MK votes to form a government, as Labor-Gesher-Meretz MK Orly Levy announced she would not support a minority government and left the Labor-Meretz alliance. An aide also stated that Gantz plans to form a government by 23 March. Lieberman and Labor party leader Amir Peretz also reaffirmed on 11 March that an alliance with the Joint List would not change their position on forming a political alliance with Gantz. On 15 March 2020, 61 of the 120 MKs told Israeli President Reuven Rivlin that they would back Gantz as Israeli Prime Minister, which resulted in Rivlin announcing that he had asked Gantz to form the new government. However, Lapid's Yesh Atid and Ya'alon's Telem asked to split from the Israel Resilience Party, and requested that the two parties keep the name Blue and White as the name of their recreated political party. On 27 March 2020, it was revealed that a major obstacle to a potential long-term alliance between Gantz and Netanyahu emerged with regards to implementing U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan. Barak Ravid of Israel's Channel 13 news revealed that Gantz, despite previously claiming that he wanted to implement this peace plan, still wanted to hold peace talks with the Palestinians, which Trump and Netanyahu still opposed. Ravid stated that this would likely make the upcoming deal between Gantz and Netanyahu short-lived. As part of the proposed coalition deal between Netanyahu and Gantz, Gantz would replace Netanyahu as prime minister of Israel in 18 months. Subsequently, after long negotiations, a compromise deal was reached over the peace plan. On 6 April 2020, Amir Peretz, leader of the Israeli Labor Party, announced that his party might be merging with Blue and White. On 20 April 2020, the coalition deal was officially signed, with Blue and White having an equal number of ministers as the Right. Blue and White received the Justice, Economy, Labor and Welfare, Communications, Agriculture, Culture and Sports, Absorption, Tourism, Minorities, Diaspora, Science and Space, Strategic Affairs, and Social Affairs ministries. The positions of foreign minister, energy minister and environmental protection minister will rotate upon the change of prime minister. The terms of the agreement also provide that Gantz serve as defense minister when the new government is sworn in. On 30 April, the bill approving the new coalition government was given its first approval in Knesset. On 6 May, the coalition agreement was approved by the Israeli Supreme Court. The same day, both Blue and White and Likud issued a joint statement claiming that the new unity government would be sworn in the following week. On 7 May, the bill approving the new government became law after it was given its final approval in Knesset. The new Israeli government, consisting of many Blue and White and Likud coalition members, was sworn in on 17 May 2020. during 2022 Israeli legislative election On 10 July 2022, Gantz and Gideon Sa'ar agreed to sign a joint faction agreement, under the overall name Blue and White The New Hope. The following month, the alliance was joined by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and former Yamina MK Matan Kahana and was renamed National Unity. Gantz announced on 1 July 2025, following the exits of Eisenkot and Kahana from the alliance, that the name of the party would revert to Blue and White. The renaming of the Knesset faction from National Unity to Blue and White-National Unity was approved by the Knesset House Committee on 7 July 2025. == Former composition ==

Blue and White consisted of one political party, Israel Resilience, which holds eight seats in the Knesset. Yesh Atid and Telem were previously part of an alliance with Israel Resilience. While not being formally part of it, the Israeli Labor Party and Derekh Eretz worked with the alliance on a parliamentary basis during the term of the twenty-third Knesset. On 10 July 2022, Blue and White signed a joint ticket agreement with New Hope, for the upcoming legislative election. The ticket was named Blue and White-New Hope, with Gantz as its prime ministerial candidate. In September 2018, it was reported that Gantz planned to enter politics. On 26 December 2018, the 20th Knesset voted to dissolve itself and hold early elections. A day later, on 27 December, after 109 people signed a list of founders, the party was officially registered with the name Israel Resilience Party. Telem In May 2016, "amidst wide-spread speculation that he would be fired by Netanyahu", Moshe Ya'alon resigned from his defense minister post. On 12 March 2017, Ya'alon officially relinquished his membership of Likud, announcing that he would form a new party to challenge Netanyahu in the next election. Ya'alon registered Telem on 2 January 2019. Telem announced an alliance with Israel Resilience on 29 January 2019. Yesh Atid Yesh Atid was founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, running on a platform representing the centre of Israeli society. In 2013, it placed second in the general election, winning 19 seats. It then entered into a coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud. In the lead-up to the 2015 election, Lapid's campaign continued to emphasize economic issues, while heavily criticizing Netanyahu and his Likud party. Receiving 11 seats, they placed fourth and sat in the opposition. ==Platform and positions ==

On 25 February 2019, Lapid stated that the alliance wished to amend the Nation-State Bill, intending to add a civil equality article. Blue and White's manifesto was released on 6 March 2019. The document reveals positions on several policy areas, key among them a commitment to engage with peace-minded Arab neighbors and a willingness to enter into negotiations with the Palestinians, albeit without land concessions. Policies included limiting the prime minister to eight years or three terms and preventing anyone convicted of a serious crime from being a public official. The alliance stated that they would return money previously taken by political parties in behind-the-scene deals and using it to reduce the cost of health care, education, and living. A diplomatic initiative for peace with the Palestinians was put forward. The alliance also supported the right of citizens to marry, divorce, parent, and be buried according to their specific beliefs, and the responsibility of all citizens to serve in the army, regardless of their religious levels. During its March 2019 campaign, the alliance's platform included the following pledges: • Governmental corruption: Impose term limits on the prime minister to a maximum of three terms or eight years. • Religion and state: The protection of the Jewish identity of the state, as well as the identities of all of its citizens. allowing people to marry according to their own beliefs. English and mathematics would be highly prioritized in elementary, middle, and high school. The alliance pledged to fight hospital closures and to increase access to medicine throughout the country, including the periphery. seek to encourage innovation in STEM fields, and encourage more women and Hasidic Jews to enter the workforce. Political commentators have criticized Blue and White for its lack of clarity on core security issues, particularly its position on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and West Bank settlements. Some analysts have described the party's platform as strategically vague, aimed at appealing to both center-left and center-right voters without committing to firm policy stances. == Leaders ==

and Yair Lapid The alliance was led by Benny Gantz. Formerly Yair Lapid and Gantz served as co-leaders, until the 2020 split within the party. The agreement was should it become the lead faction in forming a government, the two agreed to a rotation which would have had Gantz serving for the first two years as prime minister, with Lapid as foreign minister and Telem leader Moshe Ya'alon (in the third slot on the list) as defense minister. For the next two years, Lapid would have served as prime minister, with Gantz as defense minister. == Election results ==