Eisenkot Camp Bets on Smaller Parties Failing to Reach Knesset
Translated & summarized from Haaretz by baba
Gadi Eisenkot's political camp believes that smaller parties failing to enter the Knesset will boost their mandate count in the 2026 elections. Polls suggest this scenario is most beneficial for Eisenkot's party. The camp has decided to actively work against parties like Yoaz Hendel's and Yaron Zelicha's, aiming to keep them below the electoral threshold. Eisenkot argues that voting for these smaller parties is a waste of votes.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Gadi Eisenkot's camp anticipates smaller parties failing to reach the Knesset will benefit them.
- Polls indicate that Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha's parties not entering the Knesset maximizes Eisenkot's mandates.
- The anti-Netanyahu bloc has decided to target the reservists' party to lower its support.
- Eisenkot claims voting for Hendel or Zelicha is a complete waste of votes.
- The strategy aims to push these parties below the electoral threshold.
Within Gadi Eisenkot's political camp, strategists are anticipating that the failure of smaller, undecided parties to cross the electoral threshold will benefit their own party in the 2026 elections. Polls conducted by the "Yashar" party suggest that a scenario where the parties led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha do not enter the Knesset would yield the highest number of mandates for Eisenkot's party.
For some time, the bloc opposing Prime Minister Netanyahu has been deliberating how to approach the reservists' party, led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha. While it's estimated that their voters are evenly split between the two major blocs, Gadi Eisenkot, as the head of the anti-Netanyahu bloc, faces a decision: should he actively work to reduce their support below the blocking percentage, or should he leave them be?
The decision has been made to target the reservists' party and attempt to push them below the electoral threshold. Eisenkot has stated in various interviews and discussions that these parties will not pass the blocking percentage, and therefore, voting for Hendel or Zelicha constitutes a complete waste of votes.
