Gadi Eisenkot

Election Day: Israel heads to the polls as voting opens nationwide in pivotal Knesset race

Netanyahu and Eisenkot’s blocs go head-to-head with neither side having a clear path to a Knesset majority, according to final polls • Arab, haredi, and overall voter turnout could prove decisive

President Isaac Herzog casts his ballot in the 26th Knesset Election, October 27, 2026.
(L-R): Yashar head Gadi Eisenkot; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Trump surrogates discuss Netanyahu-Eisenkot unity government with Israeli officials - report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir attend the graduation ceremony of an IDF officers’ course in southern Israel, June 25, 2026.

'Complete fabrication': Netanyahu, Katz deny plans to fire IDF chief Zamir ahead of election

An election campaign poster featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot is displayed on a bus in Jerusalem, October 26, 2026

Likud files police complaint against Eisenkot campaign manager over Polymarket post


Middle Israel: Why Naftali Bennett should be Israel's next prime minister - opinion

Democratic election is about performance, but next Tuesday’s is about what happened once we faced war: how good, bad, or scandalous our leaders’ handling of the war’s home front challenges has been.

Knesset candidate Naftali Bennett's urge to bridge between religious and secular Israelis, and the right-wing Bennett's resolve to prevent Jewish terrorists' tinkering with civil war, are among the reasons the writer thinks he appeals as a potential prime minister.

Trump, the peacemaker, can make peace in Israel - opinion

With neither bloc likely to win a majority, could Trump broker a Netanyahu-Eisenkot deal built around confronting Iran?

US President Donald Trump looks on while he speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for Joint Base Andrews en route to Dalton, Georgia, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 16, 2026.

Netanyahu bloc falls to 48 seats as opposition reaches 54, days before election - poll

A final Maariv poll shows the opposition widening its lead, with Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu and 60% of Israelis favoring a unity government.

Election campaign billboards featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot and Likud party chairman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside opposition leaders are displayed along a roadside in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections.

Israel’s election is being cast as a historic showdown - but four trends tell a different story

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: From rivalries within political blocs to polls that shape voter choices and coalition red lines, four trends reveal the challenges facing Israel’s next government.

‘Politicians should leave room for compromise before the election, rather than making absolute promises they may have to abandon afterward for the good of the country.’ Will the challenge of building Israel’s next coalition government fall to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Gadi Eisenkot?

Ben-Gvir to 'Post': Netanyahu should stand with me rather than Eisenkot -interview

“Netanyahu needs to stand with me on the Right and pursue a full, full right-wing government. Only that way will we be able to save the State of Israel," Ben-Gvir told the 'Post' in an interview.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in the Jerusalem Post studio, October 21, 2026.

Editor's Notes: Israel's election exposes deep political divisions after Gantz withdrawal - comment

Here is my request, the only one I’ll make before the polls open. Give yourself permission to notice one thing that complicates your choice.

Benny Gantz visits the site of an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, March 2, 2026

Hendel to 'Post': Reservists Party could decide Israel's next government - interview

The party, he explained, will only join a coalition of Zionist parties, and isn't ruling any of them out based on who is or isn't Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Yoaz Hendel of the Reservist-Economic Party being interviewed by The Jerusalem Post, October 22, 2026.

I met Gadi Eisenkot. He did not perform leadership. He practiced it - opinion

Israel will be renewed not by the loudest people in the room, but by those who enter ready to work. Gadi Eisenkot and Yaffa Tabaja may represent that renewal.

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot speaks during a conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute in Tel Aviv, October 15, 2026

Israel Election 2026: How many votes will parties need to cross electoral threshold? - explainer

According to the updated estimates from the Taub Center, a political party will need approximately 166,000 votes to enter the Knesset if voter turnout matches that of the 2022 election.

An Israeli voting booth.

Eisenkot leads Netanyahu as Winter, Hendel-Zelekha may not cross electoral threshold - poll

Whether Ofer Winter's People of Israel party and Hendel and Zelekha's Reservists-Economic party cross the electoral threshold of 3.25% could affect the balance between the political blocs.

A large election campaign banner featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot is displayed on a building in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, October 18, 2026