Although former IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz presents himself as a centrist, and seeks to appear as "Mr Clean" against his political rival Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of corruption cases, he shares his opponents strict security vision. Gantz, 60, who presents himself as a pragmatist in the face of right-wing ideologies, is seeking enough votes to form a government alliance, for the third time in less than a year. This father of four, who has a spontaneous and endearing behavior according to his supporters, had no political experience a year ago when he founded the centrist Blue and White party whose name was inspired by the colors of the Israeli flag. Gantz has been in the public eye since first declaring political ambitions and running against Netanyahu in December 2018. Within months, his centrist Blue and White party shocked Israeli politics by matching Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud in polls last April and then edged it in September. But neither party was able to gain the support of more than half the 120 MPs in the country’s proportional system, forcing yet another election. Yet after three grueling campaigns, many Israelis feel Gantz is still more defined by his opposition to Netanyahu than for offering genuine change. Gantz was born on June 9, 1959, in Kfar Ahim, a southern village that his immigrant parents, both Holocaust survivors, helped establish. He joined the army in 1977 and went on to command Shaldag, an air force special operations unit. In 1994, he returned to the army to command a brigade and then a division in the occupied West Bank, before serving as Israel’s military attache to the United States from 2005 until 2009. He was the army’s chief of staff from 2011 until his retirement in 2015, working closely with Netanyahu. In 2014, he commanded the army’s operations in the war with Gaza’s militant rulers Hamas and has boasted of the number of Palestinian militants killed and targets destroyed. Blue and White is often hawkish on security and includes a number of Likud defectors in senior positions. Through the latest campaign, Gantz has sought to keep voter attention on the corruption allegations against his rival Netanyahu.