Former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot has announced he will run against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the October 27, 2026 general election. He founded the Yashar party in 2025 and will center the campaign on security, leadership and accountability for the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack—Eisenkot’s own son and two nephews were killed in Gaza.
Eisenkot’s 41‑year career culminated as IDF chief of staff from 2015 to 2019, where he commanded troops in the West Bank during the second intifada and led operations in the 2006 Lebanon war, deploying the controversial “Dahiyeh doctrine.” His service earned him a reputation for decisive command, but the loss of family members in the current war has sharpened his public critique of Netanyahu’s war strategy.
Politically, Eisenkot remains a hardline security voice: he insists the Hamas military wing must be destroyed, opposes any Palestinian statehood, and backs Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as national interest. He has also rejected alliances with Arab‑Israeli parties, citing their unwillingness to accept his security principles.
Reuters polls released in late September show Yashar leading Likud, indicating a potential shift in the fragmented Israeli political landscape. However, Eisenkot’s party still needs to secure a coalition with other factions—most of which favor Netanyahu’s coalition partners—to form a stable government.
The next phase is the election campaign that begins in early October, followed by coalition negotiations that will determine whether Eisenkot’s security platform can translate into executive power. The outcome will hinge on his ability to bridge the gap between his hardline stance and the pragmatic alliance-building required in Israeli politics.