Overview
- Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot launched the Yashar campaign on June 30 and has since climbed in polls to within a few seats of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud.
- Both Yashar and Likud currently fall short of the 61 seats needed for a majority, making post‑election bargaining with smaller parties the key to who governs.
- Markets and prediction prices have moved to reflect increased perceived vulnerability for Netanyahu as Eisenkot’s rise changes expected outcomes.
- Eisenkot combines hawkish security stances — including use of heavy retaliatory force and calls to broaden military service — with a pledge to open a state inquiry into the failures around the October 7, 2023 attack.
- Eisenkot’s personal losses in the Gaza war and career in the military shape his public appeal, but his positions on conscription and security could complicate deals with ultra‑Orthodox and Arab parties.