Gilad Erdan Pulls Unity Party From Israel’s 2026 Election

Former UN ambassador Gilad Erdan said Friday that his Unity Party will not contest Israel’s 2026 Knesset election after roughly one month of campaigning. Erdan said current support did not give the party a strong likelihood of clearing the 3.25% electoral threshold and that possible alliances had not materialized. Merger talks with Benny Gantz’s Blue and White failed earlier Friday. Unity’s slate included former Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein, former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch, Olympic champion Oren Smadja and retired colonel Hezi Nehama.