Who is Gadi Eisenkot and what does he stand for?
The former IDF chief under Netanyahu, who lost his son fighting in Gaza, has emerged as a centrist dark horse candidate and could become Israel's first Mizrahi prime minister
Gadi Eisenkot is the leader of the Yashar party and a former IDF chief who served under Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Middle East Eye, he has emerged as a key challenger to the incumbent Prime Minister in the elections for Israel's 38th government. Haaretz describes him as a centrist dark horse candidate who could potentially become Israel's first Mizrahi prime minister.
During his campaign, Eisenkot visited Ofakim and Nir Oz to highlight the previous government's failures regarding the October 7 Hamas invasion. He also visited the grave of his son, Gal, who died fighting in Gaza in late 2023.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Eisenkot aims to defeat Netanyahu's Likud party and its political allies to form the next government. However, because Israeli-Arab parties are not specifically affiliated with a bloc, the Jerusalem Post notes that Eisenkot may face difficulty forming a government even if he receives more votes than the Netanyahu right-wing bloc.
Such an outcome would likely require complex negotiations with coalition partners, specifically Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu, to secure an arrangement involving the Israeli-Arab parties.
Brief written by urgent.news from Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Middle East Eye — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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