The Third Bloc? How the Union Attempt Crashed | Behind the Scenes of Erdan and Edelstein

The negotiations to unite the third camp between Edelstein and Shaked with Gantz and Shamchi collapsed after Gantz refused to give up the first place. Erdan, who was not in the loop, established an independent party with Edelstein, despite Shaked's warnings about low chances of passing the threshold. Polls give them one and a half seats, and they face an empty war chest.

Israeli politics has seen attempts in recent weeks to unite the third camp, which seeks to present an alternative to Likud and the center. The main negotiations were between Yuli Edelstein and Ayelet Shaked on one side, and Benny Gantz and Dedi Shamchi on the other. According to a Walla report, Edelstein and Shaked argued that if Gantz were first on the list, it would be impossible to bring votes from the right. There was talk of a triple leadership (Gantz-Shamchi-Edelstein) and even a quadruple one (Gantz-Shamchi-Edelstein-Shaked). Gantz agreed to almost everything except giving up the first place, at most to share it. Who was not in the loop was Gilad Erdan, who wanted to establish a party alone at any cost. Edelstein was the one who made the move from Gantz to Erdan. Ayelet Shaked, despite media reports, did not consider going with Erdan at any stage. She warned him and Edelstein that they had no chance of passing the electoral threshold, but Erdan did not listen and announced the establishment of a party. The article compares to the case of Gideon Sa'ar, who reached 16 seats in polls and then crashed. Erdan and Edelstein start with one and a half seats on a good day, and an empty war chest. Many in Likud believe Erdan made a terrible mistake and should have sat another term and strengthened his position. The answer about their future will be clear by September 8, the deadline for submitting lists.