{"id":2591,"date":"2026-07-27T09:22:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T09:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/07\/27\/israeli-ex-army-chief-emerges-as-main-rival-to-netanyahu-ahead-of-general-election\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T09:22:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T09:22:30","slug":"israeli-ex-army-chief-emerges-as-main-rival-to-netanyahu-ahead-of-general-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=2591","title":{"rendered":"Israeli ex-army chief emerges as main rival to Netanyahu ahead of general election"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container class=\"o-ad-container o-ad-container--banner-top o-ad-container--with-shimmer o-ad-container--with-background\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__content o-ad-container__content--report-enabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__label m-block-ad__label--report-enabled\">\n                    <span class=\"o-ad-container__label__text\">Advertising<\/span><br \/>\n                                            <button title=\"Report this ad\" class=\"o-ad-container__content__report-link\" data-tms-ad-report><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-ad-sponsoring\" data-tms-ad-type=\"sponsoring\" data-tms-ad-status=\"disabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-sponsoring__wrapper\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content t-content--article\" id=\"main-content\">\n<div class=\"t-content__above-sidebar\">\n<h1 class=\"t-content__title a-page-title\">Israeli ex-army chief emerges as main rival to Netanyahu ahead of general election<\/h1>\n<div class=\"m-master-tag\">\n<div class=\"a-tag-section\">\n                                    Middle East\n                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"t-content__chapo\">\n                                        Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel prepares to vote in a\u00a0fiercely contested general election on October 27.\u00a0Eisenkot&#8217;s campaign is built around a 10-point platform that he says will restore Israel&#8217;s security, unity and democratic institutions.                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__with-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"t-content__beside-sidebar\" data-article-content>\n<div class=\"t-content__metadata\">\n<div class=\"t-content__dates\">\n<p class=\"m-pub-dates\"><span class=\"m-pub-dates__date\">Issued on: <time datetime=\"2026-07-27T01:41:10+00:00\">27\/07\/2026 &#8211; 03:41<\/time><\/span><span class=\"m-pub-dates__date\">Modified: <time datetime=\"2026-07-27T08:17:48+00:00\">27\/07\/2026 &#8211; 10:17<\/time><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-reading-time\">\n    <span class=\"a-reading-time__icon\" title=\"Reading time\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><br \/>\n    4 min    <span class=\"u-sr-only\">Reading time<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"a-share-button\" data-root-share>\n<p>                            <span class=\"a-master-button__label\">Share<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__authors\">\n<div class=\"m-from-author\">\n                    <span class=\"m-from-author__by-label\"><br \/>\n                By:<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-author\">\n<div class=\"m-author__name\">\n                                                    <a href=\"\/en\/author\/france-24\/\" title=\"FRANCE 24\" class=\"m-author__name__title\"><br \/>\n                                FRANCE 24<br \/>\n                            <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__main-media\">\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/3e0a1bfa-895c-11f1-9b70-005056a90284\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/f0cee60874004398fb162df958e9b34cfd59a2ac.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/3e0a1bfa-895c-11f1-9b70-005056a90284\/w:388\/p:16x9\/f0cee60874004398fb162df958e9b34cfd59a2ac.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/3e0a1bfa-895c-11f1-9b70-005056a90284\/w:720\/p:16x9\/f0cee60874004398fb162df958e9b34cfd59a2ac.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/3e0a1bfa-895c-11f1-9b70-005056a90284\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/f0cee60874004398fb162df958e9b34cfd59a2ac.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1076px) 100vw, 1012px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"Former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n                Former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections.        \u00a9 Jack Guez, AFP    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__body u-clearfix\">\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israel<\/a> heads into a fiercely contested <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20260713-israel-october-27-election-netanyahu-gaza-war\" target=\"_self\">general election on October 27<\/a>, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the principal challenger to Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenkot&#8217;s rise comes at a pivotal moment in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israeli-politics\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israeli politics<\/a>, with the election widely viewed as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/referendum\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">referendum<\/a> on the long-serving premier&#8217;s leadership in the violent aftermath of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Hamas<\/a>&#8216;s October 7, 2023, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/october-7-attacks\/\" target=\"_self\">attack on Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a-read-more\"><span class=\"a-read-more__label\">Read more<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20260713-israel-october-27-election-netanyahu-gaza-war\" target=\"_self\" class=\"a-read-more__link\">Israel sets October 27 election widely seen as referendum on Netanyahu&#8217;s leadership<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A recent Channel 12 poll put Eisenkot&#8217;s new party, Yashar (Hebrew for &#8220;Straight&#8221; or &#8220;Upright&#8221;), ahead of Netanyahu&#8217;s Likud, projecting 23 seats to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/likud\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Likud<\/a>&#8216;s 22 in the 120-member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/knesset\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Knesset<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The same survey found that 43 percent of respondents considered Eisenkot, 66, the most suitable candidate for prime minister, compared with 34 percent for Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenkot\u00a0\u2013 who has dismissed calls for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/recognition-of-palestine\/\" target=\"_self\">future Palestinian state<\/a> as irrelevant after the October 7 attacks and pioneered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/israel-strikes-lebanon-despite-ceasefire-at-least-16-killed\" target=\"_self\">Israel&#8217;s strategy of disproportionate military responses<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/lebanon\/\" target=\"_self\">Lebanon<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 has built his campaign around a 10-point platform that he says will restore Israel&#8217;s security, unity and democratic institutions.<\/p>\n<p>Chief of staff of the Israeli military between 2015 and 2019, Eisenkot was among those credited with developing the &#8220;Dahiya Doctrine&#8221;, named after a Beirut suburb that is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hezbollah\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Hezbollah<\/a> stronghold.<\/p>\n<p>Advanced on the premise that Hezbollah conceals fighters and weapons among civilian homes and infrastructure, the doctrine calls for a devastating Israeli response against enemy population centres when Israeli communities come under long-range attack.<\/p>\n<p>At the top of his civilian manifesto is a pledge to establish a state commission of inquiry into Hamas&#8217;s bloody 2023 cross-border attack, which triggered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/war-in-gaza\/\" target=\"_self\">Gaza war<\/a> and quickly expanded into a broader regional conflict, and which led to Netanyahu&#8217;s government being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tv-shows\/reporters\/20241004-october-7-attack-israel-s-intelligence-failures\" target=\"_self\">accused of overseeing an intelligence failure.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tens of thousands of Israelis have repeatedly demonstrated in support of such an inquiry, but Netanyahu&#8217;s coalition has instead proposed a commission whose members would be chosen by politicians.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenkot also promises a &#8220;new long-term national security doctrine&#8221; aimed at strengthening the military and reinforcing Israel&#8217;s borders.<\/p>\n<p>A central plank of this is a &#8220;universal national service law&#8221; that would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20251129-ultra-orthodox-military-conscription-row-reignites-in-israel\" target=\"_self\">extend compulsory service to ultra-Orthodox Jews<\/a> and Arab citizens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a-read-more\"><span class=\"a-read-more__label\">Read more<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/live-news\/20251129-ultra-orthodox-military-conscription-row-reignites-in-israel\" target=\"_self\" class=\"a-read-more__link\">Israel\u2019s new draft law reignites ultra-Orthodox conscription debate<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He has also pledged to &#8220;protect judicial independence, the rule of law, minority rights and a free press&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Through these steps, we will ensure that Israel is a Jewish, democratic, powerful, advanced and secure state,&#8221; Eisenkot&#8217;s campaign says.<\/p>\n<p>His overall position on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israeli-palestinian-conflict\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israeli-Palestinian conflict<\/a>, however, remains less clearly defined.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The only signal that he sent was that Israel should be a state of law,&#8221; said Tal Elovits, a researcher at Israeli think tank Molad. &#8220;Therefore, illegal settlements and settlers&#8217; violence will be dealt with.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Relatively new to politics, Eisenkot has attracted widespread public sympathy after his son, Gal, and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenkot&#8217;s call for universal military service has become a defining issue of his campaign, putting him at the forefront of opposition to Netanyahu&#8217;s alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenkot has repeatedly attacked Netanyahu&#8217;s agreement with his coalition partners to advance legislation exempting many Haredi men from military service.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is a government that chooses to weaken the army in the midst of a brutal war, while the finest sons and daughters of this nation are deployed across all fronts,&#8221; he wrote, in a social media post.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Different generation&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike Netanyahu, who comes from one of Israel&#8217;s elite families, Eisenkot is the son of Moroccan immigrants and grew up on the country&#8217;s geographic periphery.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In a political universe full of Netanyahu wannabes &#8230; Eisenkot reads as a man of a different generation, far more connected to the traditional security narratives of Zionism,&#8221; columnist Nadav Eyal wrote in a recent blog.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenkot&#8217;s understated style could prove to be one of his strongest political assets, said Elovits.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The middle class and upper middle class&#8230; look for someone that will look responsible, boring, and I think that Eisenkot has that appeal,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Although opposition leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/yair-lapid-1\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Yair Lapid<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/naftali-bennett\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Naftali Bennett<\/a> remain in contention, current polling suggests neither is as well positioned as Eisenkot to defeat Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>Lapid and Bennett governed together between 2021 and 2022 in a coalition that included an Arab party.<\/p>\n<h2>Strategic option<\/h2>\n<p>According to Elovits, many disillusioned right-wing voters still see that alliance as a &#8220;betrayal&#8221;, making them unlikely to return to Bennett.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Many voters of the right wing who do not like what Netanyahu is doing&#8230; are looking for a home. And a reasonable house for them today is Gadi Eisenkot,&#8221; said Gayil Talshir, a political science professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>For liberal centrist voters, Eisenkot increasingly represents the opposition candidate with the strongest chance of unseating Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Once Eisenkot began to rise above Bennett in the polls, the strategic voters of the liberal camp went with Eisenkot,&#8221; Talshir said.<\/p>\n<p><em>(FRANCE 24 with AFP)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"o-sidebar__aside\">\n<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container class=\"o-ad-container o-ad-container--box o-ad-container--with-shimmer\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__content o-ad-container__content--report-enabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__label m-block-ad__label--report-enabled\">\n                    <span class=\"o-ad-container__label__text\">Advertising<\/span><br \/>\n                                            <button title=\"Report this ad\" class=\"o-ad-container__content__report-link\" data-tms-ad-report><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__tags t-content__below-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"m-section-title m-section-title--small\">Keywords for this article<\/div>\n<ul class=\"m-tags-list\">\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Israel\">    Israel<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Benjamin Netanyahu\">    Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/knesset\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Knesset\">    Knesset<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/likud\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Likud\">    Likud<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/israeli-politics\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Israeli politics\">    Israeli politics<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/lebanon\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Lebanon\">    Lebanon<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/hezbollah\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Hezbollah\">    Hezbollah<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/war-in-gaza\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"War in Gaza\">    War in Gaza<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advertising Israeli ex-army chief emerges as main rival to Netanyahu ahead of general election Middle&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}