Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot issued a direct challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a public debate before the next elections. This came after the Likud party released a video suggesting Eisenkot could not build a coalition without backing from Arab parties.

Eisenkot's Yashar party has gained ground in recent surveys and now ranks near the top of opposition groups aiming to unseat Netanyahu. In most surveys it trails only slightly behind the Together Party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, which itself sits behind Likud.

The Likud video asserts that Eisenkot lacks any path to power absent Arab party support. It features Arab leaders advocating a Palestinian state and concludes that without Hadash-Tal chief Ayman Odeh and Ra'am head Mansour Abbas there can be no Eisenkot government.

Eisenkot responded by urging Netanyahu to abandon such clips and instead face him openly. He called for a set time and venue where both could address voter questions directly.

Most opposition parties continue to rule out any coalition that includes Arab factions. Until recently Likud focused its online attacks on the Bennett-Lapid partnership, frequently using artificial intelligence to portray them alongside Arab leaders.

Opposition Stays Firm Against Arab Party Coalitions

Bennett's party lodged a police complaint in January accusing Likud of circulating a doctored image showing him celebrating with Arab party figures next to Lapid. The party also petitioned the Central Elections Committee regarding the altered photo.

In 2021 Ra'am became the first Arab party to join a governing coalition under Bennett and Lapid. The Together Party has since pledged it will not repeat that arrangement.

Together has repeatedly invited Eisenkot to join its list in second place behind Bennett. Eisenkot declined and instead stressed the need to maximize opposition votes overall.

Eisenkot advocates a government limited to parties that back universal IDF conscription. He also promises an official inquiry into the handling of the October 7 Hamas attacks should he win power.

The former IDF chief of staff entered politics in the 2022 elections. He later served as deputy in Benny Gantz's Blue and White before departing the party in June 2025 and quitting the Knesset.

In September 2025 he founded the centrist Yashar party. Eisenkot lost his son and two nephews in the Israel-Hamas war, an experience he says drives his push for national improvement.

General elections must occur by October 27 at the latest.