JERUSALEM (AP) 鈥� A leading Israeli general who quit Prime Minister war Cabinet after accusing him of lacking a strategy in Gaza has emerged as one of the premier鈥檚 most serious challengers in elections scheduled for the fall.
His name is Gadi Eisenkot. On Tuesday in , his centrist political party 鈥淵ashar!鈥� or 鈥淪traight!鈥� formally launched its election season campaign.
鈥淭his time it鈥檚 on us,鈥� said Eisenkot at the launch event Tuesday. 鈥淲ill we turn a blind eye to the disaster that has befallen us? Will we accept the continued division and rush to the next disaster? Or will we heal and rebuild?鈥�
His rise from the highest ranks of the military could sharpen scrutiny of Netanyahu and his stewardship of Israel through multiple wars. Like nearly all of the prime minister鈥檚 rivals, Eisenkot has broadly supported Israeli military operations in places such as Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. He did not mention any of those conflicts in his speech Tuesday.
But he has also accused Netanyahu of strategic failure in the wake of the and said his vision of a more isolated Israel is a threat to the future of the state.
In recent days Netanyahu, who leads Israel鈥檚 right-wing Likud Party, has fired back, saying if he had listened to Eisenkot, who was opposed to certain operations in Gaza, then 鈥渁ll of Hamas鈥� would still be in control in the territory.
As a political newcomer, however, Eisenkot 鈥渓ooks like a front-runner because he鈥檚 everything Netanyahu is not,鈥� said Gideon Rahat, senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute think tank in Jerusalem.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not polarizing, he鈥檚 not a populist like Netanyahu, and he will try to unify the country,鈥� Rahat said.
An anti-Netanyahu biography
A 66-year-old son of Jewish Moroccan immigrants, Eisenkot stands in stark contrast to Netanyahu, a U.S.-educated elite who is on trial for corruption. He comes from a working-class family. His English is unpolished. He spent four decades in Israel鈥檚 military.
He has also never campaigned on having ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. And his 25-year-old son, Gal Meir Eisenkot, was killed in combat in Gaza, while Netanyahu鈥檚 son, a podcaster, lived part-time in Florida.
Losing a son 鈥� as well as two nephews 鈥� to the war has raised Eisenkot鈥檚 profile among Israelis and given him credibility as someone who, having paid the ultimate price, won鈥檛 needlessly sacrifice soldiers.
鈥淧eople trust him to be a real person and a patriot. They expect him to take care of the country and not himself,鈥� said Rahat, who is a professor at Hebrew University.
His platform includes a pledge to strengthen Israel鈥檚 national security, including through regional cooperation, although he has said that he supports Jewish settlements that are 鈥渋n line with Israel鈥檚 interests鈥� in the occupied . He said Tuesday he would focus on establishing a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failures leading to the Oct. 7 attack, rebuild the north and south of the country and invest in education and healthcare.
He has also adopted the slogan 鈥淪ervice for All,鈥� a nod to mandating military service for Israel鈥檚 ultra-Orthodox communities. For Israelis who have grown tired of war or sending their loved ones off to fight, such arguments may resonate.
鈥淗e presents as an everyman, a reflection of the ordinary Israeli,鈥� Joshua Leifer, a columnist for Israel鈥檚 Haaretz newspaper, wrote. He is 鈥渁 kind of antipolitician,鈥� he said.
In 2024, Eisenkot resigned from Netanyahu鈥檚 war Cabinet, citing what he said was the prime minister鈥檚 lack of strategy as Israel prosecuted its war in Gaza. He sent a blistering letter to fellow Cabinet members warning that they were mistaking incremental battlefield gains for decisions that could actually neutralize Hamas and make Israel more secure.
But his qualms weren鈥檛 with the level of destruction in Gaza or the high civilian toll, both of which drew global outrage. And while at times he has emphasized diplomacy as a way to address Israel鈥檚 security challenges, Eisenkot is also credited with formulating Israel鈥檚 so鈥慶alled 鈥淒ahiyeh Doctrine,鈥� named after the area in Beirut鈥檚 southern suburbs where the Hezbollah militant group has a stronghold.
He elaborated on the doctrine in a 2008 interview with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, after serving as a top military official during Israel鈥檚 war with Lebanon in 2006.
鈥淲hat happened in the Dahiyeh quarter of in 2006 will happen in every village from which shots will be fired in the direction of Israel,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e will wield disproportionate power against every village from which shots are fired on Israel, and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases.鈥�
Despite anti-Netanyahu sentiment, challengers face difficult path to unseating him
In Israel鈥檚 fractured multi-party system, prime ministers rarely finish their four-year terms. Coalitions collapse and new alliances are formed. Because of that 鈥� and despite Netanyahu鈥檚 unpopularity 鈥� it would still be difficult for any of the prime minister鈥檚 challengers to form a coalition broad enough to unseat him.
If Eisenkot鈥檚 party wins more seats than Netanyahu鈥檚, it will still need to form alliances with enough other parties to constitute a majority. Eisenkot has said he will not compromise on legislation mandating military service for the ultra-Orthodox, who also wield political power.
He will also need to decide whether to include Arab-led parties to get over the threshold 鈥� something Netanyahu and his far-right allies have already used as an attack line.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
