Former IDF Chief Gadi Eisenkot Launches Campaign Promising Unified Zionist Government

Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot launched his election campaign on Tuesday evening at the "Yashar!" party conference, calling for a profound leadership change in Israel. Eisenkot pledged to form a Zionist and unifying government, emphasizing the critical nature of the upcoming elections for Israel's security, unity, and soul. "These are decisive elections for the security, unity, and soul of Israel," he declared. "We have the power to make things different. I will be a prime minister for all Israeli citizens."

A recent poll published by Channel 13 last week showed the Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, with 23 seats, closely followed by Eisenkot's "Yashar!" party with 20 seats. The "Together" list, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, has weakened to 15 seats. Other parties include Yisrael Beiteinu with 12 seats, the Democrats led by Yair Golan with 10, Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben-Gvir with 9, Shas and United Torah Judaism with 8 each, Hadash-Ta'al with 6, Religious Zionism led by Bezalel Smotrich with 5, and Ra'am led by Mansour Abbas with 4. Blue and White, Balad, and The Reservists are below the electoral threshold.

In bloc terms, the current coalition holds 53 seats, while the opposition led by Eisenkot has 57 seats, and Arab parties hold 10 seats. A political merger between "Yashar!" and "Together" under Eisenkot's leadership would boost the united party to 37 seats, leaving Likud unchanged at 23. This scenario would increase the opposition to 58 seats and reduce the coalition to 52. If Arab parties unite, the coalition would weaken to 50 seats, the opposition would remain at 58, and Arab parties would rise to 12 seats. Additionally, 51% of the Arab population intends to vote in the upcoming elections, compared to 49% who do not plan to vote.