Former Israeli General Emerges as Netanyahu's Main Challenger in Upcoming Election

A former military chief who lost his son in the Gaza war has emerged as the primary threat to Benjamin Netanyahu’s political survival ahead of the October 27 election.

Gadi Eisenkot, the 66-year-old former commander of the Israel Defense Forces, is currently leading the prime minister in recent polls, signaling a potential end to the country's longest-serving premiership.

Polling from Channel 12 TV indicates 43 percent of respondents favor the somber, stocky ex-general for prime minister, compared to 34 percent for Netanyahu.

Concurrently, a Channel 13 TV survey projects Eisenkot’s newly formed Yashar party capturing 23 of the parliament’s 120 seats, marginally ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud party at 22 seats.

Eisenkot, a stranger to foreign-policy circles and untested in domestic politics, offers a stark stylistic departure from Netanyahu, according to Bloomberg.

The 76-year-old Netanyahu is currently navigating corruption cases, constitutional feuding, and growing global isolation amid near-constant conflict.

"After a whole era in which Israel was, for better or worse, led by a politician who embodied charisma, people are happy now to veer from charisma to anti-charisma," said Amotz Asa-El, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Military Legacy

Eisenkot’s military background and the loss of his son, Gal, and two nephews in the Gaza war have given him immense gravitas among the electorate.

This personal toll has partially insulated the former commander from political attacks as he campaigns on a platform to repair a nation embroiled in conflict across the Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.

Speaking to public broadcaster Kan, Eisenkot stated his candidacy was "mainly searching for meaning amid this heavy price, so that we will be worthy of it, as a family and as a country."

Despite his current domestic appeal, Eisenkot’s military career carries controversy.

He was the architect of the 2008 Dahiya doctrine, which prescribes the destruction of civilian infrastructure to target militant adversaries.

The strategy, heavily criticized by foreign governments and human rights groups during operations in Gaza and Lebanon, is defended by Israeli officials as a military necessity.

In Lebanon alone, more than a million people have been displaced this year by Israel’s airstrikes and occupation of the southern region.

Political Obstacles and Coalition Hurdles

The son of poor Moroccan immigrants, Eisenkot grew up in the working-class port of Eilat and rose through the infantry ranks to the top military post.

A graduate of the U.S. Army War College, he served briefly in Netanyahu's war cabinet during the early months of the Gaza conflict but now entirely rejects partnering with the premier.

"I’m a million percent determined to clear out the worst government this country has had since its founding, to replace it," Eisenkot told supporters in Kfar Sava earlier this month.

Building a stable ruling coalition remains a formidable challenge for the Yashar leader.

His legislative agenda includes universal military conscription, a position that alienates powerful ultra-Orthodox parties.

He also opposes the West Bank settlement strategies of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and wants police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir excluded from politics.

Like his political rivals across the spectrum, Eisenkot opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.

He has, however, signaled a willingness to cooperate with Arab parties if they accept non-military national service, a stance utilized in attack ads by right-wing opponents.

His path to power is further complicated by center-left rivals Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, who bypassed him to form a joint slate in April without consultation.

Columnist Nahum Barnea warned that the former general's frontrunner status will soon face the severe test of political compromise, predicting that his current support will quickly "turn into a sea of doubts."