Israel Election 2026: Who is Gadi Eisenkot? If Netanyahu loses, will he stop the wars in Iran and Gaza? His attitude explained | Today’s news
Gadi Eisenkot is the man who could end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s power in Israel. He was alongside Netanyahu in the parliamentary elections that began on Tuesday, October 27.
Netanyahu has been Israel’s prime minister for 19 years — his first term (1996-1999) lasted 3 years and 18 days; his second term (2009–2021) lasted 12 years and 74 days, while his third term began in 2022 and he has been prime minister since then.
Netanyahu now faces a tough battle in Israel’s October 27 parliamentary election, where he is fighting for survival against former army chief Gadi Eisenkot.
According to reports, opinion polls showed a tight race between Netanyahu’s Likud party and its right-wing allies and a rival alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and security hawk with right- and center-right supporters.
These elections in Israel come against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Iran, which put Netanyahu under scrutiny.
Who is Gadi Eisenkot?
Reticent, media-shy and a relative newcomer to Israeli politics, former military commander Gadi Eisenkot is a stark contrast to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Military career: A former military chief of staff, Eisenkot spent most of his life in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
He enlisted in the Golani Brigade in 1978 and after a 40-year career became chief of staff serving under Netanyahu from 2015 to 2019, according to CNN.
He almost always dresses in black, speaks broken English, and tends to respond in conversations using bulleted lists, a reflection of the military culture that shaped him.
His tenure included one of the most controversial episodes in recent Israeli military history. In 2016, Sgt. Elor Azaria shot and killed a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron.
Despite pressure from right-wing politicians – including Netanyahu – Eisenkot supported the military investigation and trial, saying he defended army discipline and ethics.
Political career: Eisenkot is a relative newcomer to politics. He entered politics in 2022 alongside another former chief of staff, Benny Gantz.
After the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, both joined Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet. But they left in June 2024, citing the absence of a clear post-war strategy, CNN reported.
His image as a straight-laced security hawk with humble roots resonated with the nation, which went to the polls on October 27 for the first time since Hamas attacked Israel three years ago.
He would be the first prime minister to be Sephardi, Jews who trace their recent origins to the Middle East and North Africa, AFP reported.
Unlike Netanyahu, who comes from an elite family and whose father was a prominent professor in the United States, Eisenkot is the son of Moroccan Jews and grew up on the geographic periphery of Israel.
Eisenkot is the second of nine children and the father of five.
Rise to popularity
Eisenkot gained wide public sympathy after his son Gal and two nephews were killed in the fighting in Gaza. His blue-collar roots form another element of his appeal.
His background came into focus when a senior commentator on pro-Netanyahu TV station Channel 14 described Eisenkot as a “monkey” controlled by “Ashkenazi elitists,” AFP reported.
He was referring to Jews of European descent who historically dominated Israel’s political and economic institutions.
Gadi Eisenkot’s position on Iran, Gaza:
Eisenkot offers a break with Netanyahu’s leadership and far-right allies, but not with the hawkish security views that have hardened since October 7, 2023.
On the war in Gaza:
As for Gaza, Gadi Eisenkot has promised to end Hamas rule within 18 months, according to AFP.
He recently said that this could be achieved either by implementing US President Donald Trump’s cease-fire plan, which envisages the gradual disarmament of Hamas and handing over power, or by using “creative operations” aimed at destroying the movement’s military wing.
Eisenkot criticized Netanyahu for his handling of the war in Gaza, accusing the prime minister of prolonging the conflict and endangering Israeli hostages for political reasons, which eventually led to his resignation from the war cabinet.
In practice, Netanyahu’s stated goals are similar in principle, but Eisenkot argues that “as long as Netanyahu is in office, Hamas will remain in power.”
On Palestinian statehood
He opposes Palestinian statehood and says the military wing of Hamas must be destroyed or dismantled.
CNN reported that before entering politics, Eisenkot warned that continued Israeli control over Palestinians in the occupied West Bank risks creating a binational state, which he called “the end of the Zionist vision.”
But he has rejected the two-state solution since October 7, saying in a recent interview that anyone who still advocates it is “delusional,” without presenting any alternative vision.
He opposes formal annexation and illegal bases and has called the Israeli government’s plan to build in the controversial E1 area of the West Bank a “mistake” because of the international costs.
He also vowed to crack down on extremist settlers in the West Bank who have attacked Palestinians with impunity and recently beat an American journalist and a French mayor, denouncing the incidents as “Jewish terror” backed by the Netanyahu government.
Iran, Lebanon conflict:
Regarding Iran, Eisenkot shares Netanyahu’s main goals of preventing it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and weakening Tehran’s proxy network, CNN reported.
However, Eisenkot has criticized the lack of strategy in the latest conflict and argues that military gains must be accompanied by diplomacy.
Furthermore, it is widely believed that the decision to end the war in Iran rests in the hands of the United States rather than Israel.
Meanwhile, while commanding the army during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, Eisenkot devised the so-called “Dahiya Doctrine”, named after a suburb of Beirut, in which Israel vowed massive force against civilian infrastructure in areas inhabited by Lebanese militants.
According to CNN, like nearly all of Netanyahu’s rivals, Eisenkot has broadly supported Israeli military operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
His key promises:
1. In response to a key source of resentment among Israelis after three years of war, Eisenkot promised to limit military service exemptions for religious students.
2. He promised a “universal national service law” requiring ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens to perform military or civilian service.
3. Eisenkot also promised to try to restore Israel’s international image, which has been severely strained after three years of war in Gaza and violence in the occupied West Bank.
4. He sought to appeal to centrist and liberal voters by pledging to “protect judicial independence, the rule of law, minority rights, and a free press.”
5. He vowed to try to restore Israel’s international image, which is severely strained after three years of war in Gaza and violence in the occupied West Bank
6. He vowed to crack down on extremist West Bank settlers who have attacked Palestinians with impunity and recently beat an American journalist and a French mayor, denouncing the incidents as “Jewish terror” backed by the Netanyahu government.
