Justice Minister quits the Kahol Lavan party led by Benny Gantz

Defense Minister Benny Gantz was preparing to declare on Tuesday night his intention regarding his run for election at the head of Kahol Lavan in March, when a senior party associate, Justice Minister Avi Nisenkorn,  announced he was jumping ship to join the still unannounced new party formed by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. Huldai himself is to unveil his new party – also on Tuesday night.

Standing by the justice minister, Gantz refused to reduce his powers as demanded by PM Binyamin Netanyahu as the price for preserving their coalition government. This act triggered the coming election, Israel’s fourth in two years. The pre-election landscape is meanwhile becoming crowded with new parties springing up. They all share the same goal, whether on the right or the center-left: Netanyahu’s displacement by their leaders. Some of these aspirants will hardly make it past the 3.37 pc threshold for a place in the Knesset.