Eisenkot offers hawkish alternative to Netanyahu for Israeli PM
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Eisenkot → offer → PM
Reserved, media-shy, and a relative newcomer to Israeli politics, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot presents a clear contrast to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the veteran leader he aims to defeat in an election next week.
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he → present → election
His image as a straight-talking security hawk from humble roots has resonated in a nation going to the polls on October 27 for the first time since Hamas attacked Israel three years ago.
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: He opposes Palestinian statehood and says Hamas' military wing must be destroyed or dismantled.
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wing → talk → statehood
Opinion polls show Eisenkot's Yashar party leading Netanyahu's Likud, though Israel's fractured politics mean neither is assured of forming the next government.
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neither → show → government
Eisenkot has emphasized his security credentials on the campaign trail, citing his "Dahiyeh doctrine" of responding to attacks with disproportionate force, which he deployed as a commander during Israel's 2006 war with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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he → emphasize → Lebanon
His austere public style also sets him apart from Netanyahu, a flamboyant and combative politician who is on trial for corruption and remains widely blamed for the security failures surrounding the October 7 attack, according to opinion polls.
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who → set → polls
Eisenkot's public standing is also bound up with the personal price his family has paid since 2023: a son and two nephews were killed fighting in Gaza.
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son → bind → Gaza
"He's very likable, not a politician, an everyday person," said Eitan Shamir, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.
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Shamir → say → University
People feel they can relate to him."
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they → feel → him
Beyond his call to eliminate Hamas' military capabilities, Eisenkot has said Israel's next government must prevent Iran from acquiring a military nuclear capability, either by force or through an "arrangement" such as a US-backed diplomatic solution.
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government → eliminate → solution
He also favours Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, where settlements expanded under Netanyahu.
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settlements → favour → Netanyahu
Most countries consider the settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace.
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settlements → consider → peace
But settlement should serve Israeli national interests and must be “legal”, he told Israel's Channel 7, a comment suggesting opposition to settler outposts established without state approval.
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he → serve → approval
Eisenkot has criticised settler violence against Palestinians, which has surged since 2023, raising tensions in Israel’s ties with Western states, and he opposes Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have both faced sanctions by some Western countries for inciting violence against Palestinians.
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who → criticise → Palestinians
A son of Moroccan immigrants, Eisenkot would be the first prime minister from Israel’s Mizrahi community, Jews who trace their roots to the Middle East and North Africa.
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who → trace → East
An important constituency for Netanyahu, the Mizrahi community has sometimes been disadvantaged in Israel, particularly in the state’s early decades, which were dominated by Ashkenazi Jews, who trace their roots to Europe.
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who → disadvantage → Europe
Eisenkot served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 41 years, commanding troops in the West Bank during the second intifada, or uprising, and during the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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Eisenkot → serve → Lebanon
The "Dahiyeh doctrine" he deployed in 2006 was a deterrent strategy of responding to attacks by militant groups with overwhelming destruction, even of civilian infrastructure, in areas they use.
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they → deploy → areas
The name refers to Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.
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name → refer → suburbs
The UN emergency relief coordinator at the time said the Israeli bombardment of Dahiyeh had breached humanitarian law.
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bombardment → say → law
Eisenkot rose to become chief of staff from 2015 to 2019.
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Eisenkot → rise → 2019
The party he founded in 2025 is called Yashar, meaning straight or honest in Hebrew.
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he → found → Hebrew
JOINED WAR CABINET
After Hamas launched the October 7 attacks, killing 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, Eisenkot joined Netanyahu's war cabinet as an observer.
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Eisenkot → join → observer
He quit after eight months, criticising Netanyahu's leadership.
“I want a simple thing.
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I → quit → thing
We defined, and I raised my hand in favor of, the destruction of Hamas's military and governmental power,” Eisenkot said in the Channel 7 interview.
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Eisenkot → define → interview
“We decided to achieve this within a year.
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Over three years have passed, and it hasn't happened,” he said, criticizing Netanyahu for declaring a goal of “total victory”.
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he → pass → victory
Israel flattened much of the Gaza Strip after the October 7 attacks, killing 74,000 people, according to Gaza health officials.
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Israel → flatten → officials
A UN inquiry determined Israel committed genocide in Gaza, a finding rejected by Israel.
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Israel → determine → Israel
A peace plan announced by US President Donald Trump a year ago led to a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages seized in 2023.
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plan → announce → 2023
Eisenkot said freeing the hostages was the only war goal achieved by Israel.
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freeing → say → Israel
Trump's wider Gaza peace plans foresee Hamas disarming, new Palestinian governance for Gaza under international supervision and an Israeli withdrawal.
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Hamas → foresee → supervision
Those goals remain unfulfilled, with Israel occupying more than half of Gaza and Hamas still armed.
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Hamas → remain → Gaza
Under a Trump-backed plan unveiled in July, Hamas said it had agreed to disarm in return for gradual Israeli withdrawal.
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it → back → withdrawal
But Netanyahu rejected the plan, saying Hamas must be disarmed before any withdrawal.
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Hamas → reject → withdrawal
In the Channel 7 interview, Eisenkot restated the goal of eliminating Hamas' military power.
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Eisenkot → restate → power
"This is where we need to see how it gets done, how Hamas' military wing is destroyed or dismantled.
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wing → need → ?
It must end with that," he said.
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he → end → that
He is against statehood for the Palestinians, who have long sought self-determination in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with a capital in East Jerusalem, telling Channel 7 "two states for two peoples is a mistake".
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states → seek → peoples
“My position is that between the Jordan River and the Sea, Israel must have overriding security responsibility.
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Israel → have → responsibility
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
