Unity Party leader Gilad Erdan withdraws from election after failed merger talks

Unity Party chairman Gilad Erdan announced he is withdrawing from Israel's 2026 election race on Friday.

In a statement, Erdan said the party had little likelihood of crossing the electoral threshold and that efforts to form mergers with other parties had failed to materialize, leading him to suspend the campaign.

“Despite the many efforts we made, the support for the Unity Party I established so far does not provide a high likelihood of crossing the electoral threshold, and the possibilities of joining with additional parties in the unity bloc are also not materializing,” Erdan said.

"Therefore, I have decided that the Unity Party will not run in the upcoming election.” He concluded.

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot commended Erdan’s decision to suspend his party’s campaign, calling it a “responsible and leadership-driven decision” that would increase the chances of replacing the October 7 government and establishing a broad Zionist government that would bring healing and recovery to Israel.

Eisenkot called on other parties struggling to cross the electoral threshold to make similar decisions, saying, “Any party that is hovering around the electoral threshold should act with the same responsibility and put the good of Israel ahead of any other consideration.”