In political shakeup, National Unity No. 2 Eisenkot to leave the party, quit Knesset

In a shakeup within the opposition, a popular member of the centrist National Unity party announced his imminent departure from the faction and from the Knesset on Monday, with the apparent intention of finding a new political home ahead of the next national election.

MK Gadi Eisenkot, National Unity’s No. 2, informed leader Benny Gantz that he was set to leave, the party said in a statement.

A statement from National Unity said Eisenkot had told Gantz he would “return his mandate to the party” by resigning from the Knesset.

“The two emphasized the years-long friendship and tremendous respect between them, and that they will continue to cooperate for the shared goals and the people of Israel in the future,” the statement said.

In a separate statement, Gantz said that “in recent weeks, significant ideological and conceptual gaps emerged between us, in relation to the current way to serve the State of Israel.”

“Gadi is, first of all, a personal friend, he is a reasonable person, who served the country for decades, and I am sure he will continue to serve it in his own way,” Gantz said, adding that while their political partnership had ended, they would remain friends.

There was no immediate statement on the matter from Eisenkot.

The announcement came following widespread reports in Hebrew media of the lawmaker’s expected departure.

Sources close to Eisenkot were quoted in the reports as saying that the party primaries proposed by Gantz are not sufficient to keep him in the fold, and that though he has good personal ties with the National Unity leader, remaining in the party “would not allow him to realize his ideas and ideology.”

Sources in National Unity told the Ynet news site that Eisenkot is departing the Knesset to find a new political home for the next election.

Citing unnamed political sources, Ynet reported that Yesh Atid party chair Yair Lapid, the opposition leader, is looking to offer Eisenkot the leadership of his party for the next election.

From Lapid’s point of view, former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s party would be too right-wing for Eisenkot to join, while Yair Golan’s The Democrats would be too left-wing for the departing National Unity lawmaker, the report said.

Last month, Eisenkot told Channel 12’s “Meet the Press” that talk of establishing a Palestinian state is “irrelevant” in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught, but there is also no reason to discuss reoccupying the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli Democracy Institute poll released in February showed that National Unity had experienced a clear downward trend over the course of the past year, going from a 70 percent repeat voter share in April to 34% in December.

Opinion polls have consistently indicated mounting support for Eisenkot to replace Gantz at the helm of National Unity, finding that following Bennett’s return to politics, the party would receive several more seats with Eisenkot in charge than with Gantz.

A recent poll, taken at the end of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, showed National Unity winning only seven seats in an election.

The next election is due in October 2026, but may be called earlier if the current coalition collapses.

Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, lost his son, Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot, fighting in Gaza in December 2023. A nephew of his, Sgt. Maor Cohen Eisenkot, 19, was killed in battle a day later. A second nephew, Cpt. Yogev Pazy, 22, was killed in battle in Gaza in November 2024.

Sam Sokol contributed to this report.