Gadi Eisenkot Emerges as Main Netanyahu Challenger in Israeli Vote
A Channel 12 poll puts the new Yashar party on 23 seats, ahead of Likud on 22, before the October 27 vote.
Former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's October 27 election. A latest Channel 12 poll placed Eisenkot's new party, Yashar, in first place with a projected 23 seats in the Knesset, narrowly ahead of Likud, which is expected to win 22 seats. The same poll found 43 percent of respondents said Eisenkot was most suited to lead the government, compared with 34 percent for Netanyahu. Eisenkot is building his campaign amid the fallout from the Gaza war, promising to form a commission of inquiry into Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, strengthen national security and expand military conscription to ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens.