TEL AVIV—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leading opposition candidate, Gadi Eisenkot, couldn’t be more different in terms of style, background and a host of issues that matter to Israeli voters.
He has said he would end Hamas’s rule in Gaza within 18 months—whether through President Trump’s peace plan or by force—and told Israeli radio earlier in the month that he supported building settlements in the West Bank, though he says he would crack down on settler violence and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state. Analysts say the lifelong military man whose youngest son died fighting in Gaza understands the limits and costs of military force. Still, he pushes tough positions.
It was Netanyahu who tapped Eisenkot as the military chief of staff in 2014. 7 and sat on the war cabinet. Nearly a third of Jewish Israelis say they have become more right-wing as a result of the war, according to the poll by Agam Labs.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said he fights unapologetically for Israel. On domestic issues, Eisenkot has carved out positions challenging Netanyahu and his coalition by criticizing violence by extremist West Bank settlers as “Jewish terror” and supporting drafting ultraorthodox Israelis into the military. He says he doesn’t support building controversial settlements in the West Bank E1 area opened for bidding by Netanyahu’s cabinet at this time given the international backlash. “The only way for the liberal camp to come to power is to bring between five to 10 seats who voted in 2022 for Netanyahu’s coalition,” said Gayil Talshir, a senior lecturer in political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “Just changing the government, just changing the people in the government, it’s not going to be enough, we need to change policies,” said Offir Gutelzon, 51, an Israeli tech entrepreneur in Palo Alto, Calif., who is flying back to Israel to vote against Netanyahu. “But, obviously, the start is to get someone new holding the wheels on the train called Israel.”
The prime minister’s detractors say he has undermined democratic institutions, brought extremists into his government, prolonged wars for political gain and sacrificed Israel’s standing abroad amid an upswell of anger about Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war. The prime minister’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment. Even after the men became political adversaries, Eisenkot agreed to join Netanyahu in an emergency national unity government after Oct. He resigned months later, accusing Netanyahu of prolonging the war and sacrificing Israel’s hostages, which the prime minister denies. Polls show that far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has implemented much tougher conditions for Palestinian prisoners, is especially popular among Israeli youth. “To bring voters from the other side, they have to speak in the language of the right.
