Overview
- Eisenkot formally opened his campaign on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, presenting himself as a unifying, security‑first candidate who would lead a “prime minister of all Israelis.”
- He pledged to establish a state commission of inquiry into the intelligence and command failures that preceded the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack if elected.
- His platform focuses on boosting national security, promoting regional cooperation, expanding IDF ranks and instituting mandatory national service for ultra‑Orthodox Israelis.
- Recent Channel 13 polling puts Yashar! within one or two Knesset seats of Likud, a surge that makes coalition bargaining decisive because neither bloc reaches a majority without the roughly ten‑seat Arab party bloc.
- Eisenkot’s military credentials and personal losses in the war have given him credibility on defense and have intensified pressure on rivals such as Netanyahu, Bennett and Lapid to reconsider mergers and alliance strategies before October.