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Are Netanyahu and Gantz really so different?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz appear to hold similar views on certain issues, but are miles apart in tone and expression.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he sits next to Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, during a memorial ceremony for late Israeli President Shimon Peres, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC140183F6E0
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It would prove to be a difficult task to find essential differences between the leaders of the two largest parties in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud and Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz. This is due in part to Netanyahu adopting policies that are at times dramatically different from his pronouncements, especially some of those preceding elections, while Gantz, being new to politics, hardly has a record outside the military with which to compare. In campaigning, Gantz has used general and noncommittal language, and the statements he has made have to be treated as campaign promises. 

Netanyahu and Gantz are not so far apart in their views in several areas, one example being that the Golan Heights remain under Israeli sovereignty. There are, however, some differences in the positions the two leaders have presented and in Blue and White's platform and Likud’s stated policies. 

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