Eisenkot aims to out-hawk Netanyahu in Israel vote — SkimNews
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- Gadi Eisenkot pledged to "destroy Hamas's military wing" within 18 months of taking office, saying the defeat could come through "President [Donald] Trump's framework" or through military force
- Likud struck back at Eisenkot by claiming he would need Arab party support — specifically Mansour Abbas and Ahmed Tibi — to form a coalition government
- October 27 election projections show Eisenkot's and Netanyahu's parties each winning just over 20 of the Knesset's 120 seats, with Arab parties projected at 13 seats
- Eisenkot and Netanyahu are both accusing each other of supporting a Palestinian state — Eisenkot's "Benjamin is Palestine" X post versus Netanyahu's jab that Eisenkot will "establish a Palestinian state before GTA 6 comes out"
- Both candidates agree Israel "must do everything, including attacking Iran, to destroy its nuclear capability" — their disagreements center on domestic issues like corruption and ultra-orthodox conscription
- Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, executive director of Israel's leading think tank, characterized this convergence as a "new" national security concept that rejects permanent peace with Arab states, prioritizes Jewish character over democracy, and embraces settlements as "part of the defense network"
- Coalition math has become near-impossible: neither side will partner with Arab parties as in 2021's Bennett-Lapid-Raam government, raising the prospect that neither candidate can assemble a Knesset majority
Why it matters: With both leading candidates converging on out-hawkish positions — pledging to destroy Hamas and strike Iran's nuclear program — Israel's next government will inherit a national security doctrine that prioritizes Jewish identity over democracy and rejects Arab-Israeli political partnership. That refusal to deal with the projected 13-seat Arab bloc could leave the 120-seat Knesset in deadlock, as neither Eisenkot's nor Netanyahu's ~20-seat parties can reach a majority without partners both men have ruled out.
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