Eisenkot launches campaign bid to replace Netanyahu, promising unity, Oct 7 inquiry, relief for IDF reservists
'In the name of personal example and responsibility, we'll replace leadership without vision and strategy'
After becoming the most popular opposition leader in the most recent opinion polls, Gadi Eisenkot officially launched his campaign to become the next prime minister of Israel on Tuesday with his Yashar! Party.
Under the slogan “Israel Must Win,” the former IDF chief of staff Eisenkot attacked Benjamin Netanyahu, without explicitly naming him: “There are those who for years have incited and fueled [division], as if the people of Israel are not one people. They have advanced moves that contradict the national interest, and slap in the face the Israelis who work, serve, and are prepared to sacrifice their lives for this home.”
“In the name of personal example and responsibility, we will replace a leadership devoid of vision and strategy, that is paving the way to losing the way. The leadership uses the concept of national unity as a cynical election campaign. I will do everything to unite the people of Israel. Together with my partners, we will act to establish a Zionist, unifying, and worthy government,” he continued.
Yashar continues to gain at Bennett's expense
— Israel Elects (@israel_elects) June 30, 2026
via Midgam/Chan12, 01-06/2026 pic.twitter.com/qdKVIRxulL
Over the past few weeks, Yashar has overtaken the Together party led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid in most polls, after Eisenkot had rejected repeated offers to join them.
The former general, who comes from a working-class, Jewish Moroccan family, lost his son and two nephews in the war.
His supporters see him as a politician who leads by personal example and is credible, humble and moderate, though detractors have pointed to his part in the army’s failures on Oct. 7 through policies he advanced as IDF chief, including the alleged over-reliance on technology and a smart, small ground army.
A major focus of his election campaign is the demand to radically increase military enlistment among the ultra-Orthodox community.
ישראל חייבת לנצח. היא תנצח 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/aCTOifQM9G
— Gadi Eisenkot - גדי איזנקוט (@gadi_eisenkot) June 30, 2026
In his speech, Eisenkot vowed “to increase the ranks of the army in order to significantly ease the burden on regular and reserve servicemen, without compromising the security needs.”
The party suggests limiting the number of reserve duty days per year to up to 50, and no more than 150 over a three-year period. Many reservists have served upwards of 200 or more days since the current war began on Oct. 7, 2023.
Eisenkot also declared his intention “to immediately establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the truth, from which we will learn from the past and prepare for the future. To care for everyone who was harmed in body and soul in the war. For us, this is the first duty.”
In a swipe at the current government’s judicial reform plans, Eisenkot promised that Israel “will be a Jewish-democratic state, embodying the principles of the Declaration of Independence.”
Most Suitable for Prime Minister
— Israel Elects (@israel_elects) June 29, 2026
🟦Netanyahu (Likud): 37% (+1)
🟥Eisenkot (Yashar): 36% (-2)
🟦Netanyahu: 40% (+1)
🟥Bennett (Together): 32% (+1)
🟦Netanyahu: 40% (+2)
🟥Lieberman (Yisrael Beteinu): 23% (-2)
changes w. June 25
via Midgam/Chan12, June 29 pic.twitter.com/3TZDO2bj7F
At the event, the Yashar party also revealed detailed plans for improvements in a range of areas, which were presented by some of the senior figures that joined Eisenkot in recent months.
These include former Knesset Member Matan Kahana, who presented plans for improving the education system; former Shin Bet director Yoram Cohen, presenting plans to restore national and personal security, and others.
“The plans are the product of the work of professional teams established within the party and led by its members, who held dozens of meetings with professionals and academics, research and policy institutes, representatives of civil society, and officials from the field, with the aim of formulating practical work plans that will provide a response to the state's central challenges,” the party said.
Despite Yashar’s ascendance, the political situation remains deadlocked, with no bloc projected to reach the necessary 61-seat majority and a cross-bloc government seeming unlikely.
Last week, a poll by The Times of Israel for the first time projected Yashar as the largest party overall, even overtaking Netanyahu’s Likud. But Eisenkot will have to decide whether he can convince one of the current coalition parties, or one of the Arab parties, to join him to reach the majority.
Contrary to Bennett, Eisenkot has not explicitly ruled out inviting an Arab party. The Likud has already been using the perceived threat of an Arab party joining the government for campaign attacks against Yashar.
However, Eisenkot’s IDF draft plans effectively rule out a coalition with the Haredi parties, and he also attacked Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich over the weekend, claiming his plans to “take over the lands of Judea and Samaria,” disqualify him as a coalition partner as well – leaving no credible path to a governing coalition, for now.
Hanan Lischinsky has a Master’s degree in Middle East & Israel studies from Heidelberg University in Germany, where he spent part of his childhood and youth. He finished High School in Jerusalem and served in the IDF’s Intelligence Corps. Hanan and his wife live near Jerusalem, and he joined ALL ISRAEL NEWS in August 2023.
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