Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a new challenge from Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief, in the upcoming election. Eisenkot’s Yashar party has been gaining momentum, with recent polls showing it running close to Likud and ahead of the joint list formed by former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

Eisenkot’s Background

Eisenkot, 66, is the second of nine children born to Moroccan immigrants. He was raised in Tiberias and Eilat, outside Israel’s traditional centers of power and influence. As a soldier, he rose through the Golani Brigade to become the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) chief of staff from 2015 to 2019, picked by Netanyahu.

Eisenkot’s tenure as chief of staff saw both political pressure and controversy. In 2016, he presided over the prosecution of Elor Azaria, a combat medic convicted of killing a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron, a case that became a political flashpoint over military ethics and rules of engagement.

Campaign and Polls

The latest Channel 12 poll projects that Eisenkot’s party would take 21 seats in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, just behind Likud’s 23 and ahead of Bennett-Lapid’s 18. Asked who was better suited to serve as prime minister, 38% of respondents named Eisenkot; 36% said Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s allies have already escalated their attacks on Eisenkot, accusing him of past leniency toward Hezbollah figures. Eisenkot has rejected these claims and is considering legal action.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.