Eisenkot vows he will not serve under Netanyahu under any circumstances

Tracking data shows neither the Netanyahu-led bloc nor the opposition camp with a clear path to the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot said Wednesday that he would not serve under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under any circumstances, rejecting the possibility of a rotation agreement as Israel approaches its October 27, 2026, general election.

Speaking to Radio 103FM, the former IDF chief of staff said he would resign within an hour if he joined a government headed by Netanyahu. He told the interviewer to preserve his remarks and hold him to the commitment.

“If that happens, play this – I resign an hour later.”

Eisenkot has previously opposed rotation agreements and said Netanyahu must not be allowed to remain prime minister.

He holds Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

His position does not rule out a unity government that includes Likud as a party, but Eisenkot said he would not participate in an arrangement in which Netanyahu serves as prime minister.

The declaration follows speculation that Yashar could agree to a post-election rotation deal with Netanyahu as part of a unity government.

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman has been among Eisenkot’s political rivals raising the possibility of such an arrangement.

Recent polling puts Yashar and Likud at about 22 seats each, positioning Eisenkot as a leading figure in the political opposition.

Tracking data shows neither the Netanyahu-led bloc nor the opposition camp with a clear path to the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority without further negotiations.

President Isaac Herzog has signaled that he wants to prevent a repeat of the political deadlock of 2019-2020, when Israel held three elections in 11 months.

Herzog has indicated that if neither bloc secures the 61 seats needed to govern after the October 27 election, he would work toward the formation of a unity or rotation government.