The former military chief trying to unseat Israel’s embattled leader has promised political change but shares key positions on Gaza and Palestinian statehood
Israeli General Gadi Eisenkot, Former Chief of the General Staff, has been tasked with forming the country’s next government, dealing a major setback to Benjamin Netanyahu after an election overshadowed by years of war, political scandals and deep divisions within society.
The struggle for power comes as Netanyahu faces genocide accusations over Gaza, mounting condemnation of military operations and state-backed settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and criticism of expanding regional wars, including the unprovoked campaign against Iran.
Eisenkot has promised to remove Netanyahu and restore an accountable government, but his military record and policies have raised questions about how exactly he would govern and whether Palestinians would actually see a change for the better.
Who is Netanyahu’s challenger?
Eisenkot, 66, was born in Tiberias to Moroccan Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in Eilat, far from Israel’s main political centers.
He joined the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Golani infantry brigade in 1978 and spent 41 years in the military, rising through senior commands in the occupied West Bank and northern Israel before serving as chief of staff from 2015 to 2019.
As a senior commander, he advocated the so-called Dahiya doctrine, stating in 2008 that Israel would use “disproportionate force” and inflict “huge damage and destruction” on the Lebanese villages from which it was attacked.
Eisenkot entered parliament in 2022 and joined Netanyahu’s emergency government after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, attending the war cabinet’s discussions on the Gaza campaign as an observer.
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