Exclusive interview: Gadi Eisenkot lays out vision of change and repair for Israel

Key Points:

• Gadi Eisenkot, former IDF chief of staff and leader of the Yashar party, is emerging as the leading opposition candidate to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming October election, gaining rapid support and polling ahead of Netanyahu on suitability for prime minister.
• Eisenkot criticized the government’s handling of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, attributing failures to negligence and arrogance rather than betrayal, and pledged to establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate government and military shortcomings over the past decade.
• He ruled out forming a coalition with Arab-led parties, citing their refusal to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization and their rejection of Israel as a Jewish democratic state, but expressed confidence in building a majority with Zionist parties under strict principles.
• On security and policy, Eisenkot emphasized the threat from Iran’s nuclear ambitions, pledged to restore military control over the West Bank to curb settler violence, and advocated for increased enforcement of conscription laws, including drafting haredim with limited exemptions.
• Eisenkot distinguished himself as a calm, committed leader motivated by personal loss in the war, seeking to restore national unity and improve Israel’s international relations, particularly with the United States, while rejecting the idea of a rotation government and promising stable four-year leadership.