Eizenkot Blasts Netanyahu Over War Goals and Haredi Draft Deal

Gadi Eizenkot, former IDF chief of staff and chairman of the Yashar! party, sharply criticized the government on Wednesday at the MUNI EXPO 2026 conference of the Israel Federation of Local Authorities. He said Israel has failed to achieve its war aims in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, and argued that recent agreements and negotiations with Lebanon are being conducted in a way that harms Israeli interests.

Eizenkot said leadership in war is judged by whether it achieves its stated goals and improves Israel’s long-term strategic position. On both counts, he said, “the government of Israel has failed miserably.” He said the objectives in Gaza, the destruction of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military and governing capabilities, have not been met. In Lebanon, he said the goal of removing the military threat to the north has also not been achieved. He added that Iran-related goals, destroying the nuclear program, limiting missile capabilities, and cutting Hezbollah’s support network, are still unmet.

Turning to the northern front, Eizenkot said U.S. interests are limiting Israel’s freedom of action, including restrictions on hitting Lebanese infrastructure, the Lebanese government, and the Lebanese army. While he said he understands the American position, he insisted Hezbollah is the enemy across the Israel-Lebanon and Syria-Lebanon borders and said Israel must strike it everywhere. He also said it is “crazy” to leave IDF troops in a security zone “with their hands tied and eyes covered,” and complained that even tunnels found recently cannot be destroyed without authorization.

Eizenkot also attacked a reported deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties, exposed by ynet, under which a Basic Law on Torah study would be advanced in exchange for support for establishing a political investigation committee. He called it “corrupt and detached” and said Netanyahu has lost control. Eizenkot said the country should go to elections as soon as possible and seek a fresh mandate, warning against a situation in which “the non-working and non-serving sector shuts down the state on the working and serving sector.”

He said equal military service is a “red line” and that it would be better to hold another election than pass a draft exemption law to form a government. Eizenkot said the system of deferments and exemptions must end, with all young Israelis called to serve except for a very small number of Torah scholars and exceptional talents, calling it an “existential and functional necessity.”