Eisenkot Leads Netanyahu in Polls Ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 Election

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 25

Polls show Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party narrowly ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud before Israel’s Oct. 27 election, making the retired army chief the prime minister’s main challenger.
61 seats are needed to form a government, so even the leading party will have to assemble a coalition and the final winner may not be clear for days after voting.
66-year-old Eisenkot brings a high-profile security record as IDF chief from 2015 to 2019 and briefly joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack before quitting over strategy.
His candidacy also carries liabilities: critics say he shares responsibility with Netanyahu for the pre-Oct. 7 Hamas 'conceptzia,' though supporters argue he could curb far-right influence and repair Israel’s international standing.

Sources

Left25%

Center50%

Right25%

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Al-Monitor8h ago

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9 Sources

Can a grieving former general overcome his own past security failures to unseat Netanyahu in Israel's upcoming election?

Without supporting Palestinian statehood or Arab political alliances, how can Eisenkot mathematically secure the 61 seats needed to govern Israel?

Israel’s 2026 Election at a Crossroads: Polling, Coalition Stalemate, and the Shadow of October 7

Overview

Israel’s October 27, 2026 election comes after the traumatic October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, which triggered a multi-front war and forced hundreds of thousands of reservists into repeated service. This led to growing public demands for equal military conscription, especially for Ultra-Orthodox men, and sparked massive protests like the 'Million March' that paralyzed highways. At the same time, deep political divides over judicial reforms, coalition deadlock, and the inclusion of Arab-majority parties shape the election. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow Arab slates to run highlights how legal and social tensions are driving a historic and uncertain vote.

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