Eisenkot warns at mass rally: Netanyahu will ‘stop at nothing’ to stay in power

Speaking at a mass rally less than two days before polls open, opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot warns that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will stop at nothing to stay in power” and will not blush at using extreme measures to retain his position.

“I see the polls, I know the data, and I know Netanyahu,” Eisenkot, who chairs the Yashar party, says at the Tel Aviv rally, according to Haaretz. “He’ll stop at nothing — no lie, no extreme measure — to stay in power.”

Eisenkot urges the crowd to go out and vote, and not to take Netanyahu’s defeat for granted. Polls show that neither the premier’s supporters nor his opponents are expected to win a majority in the Knesset.

Eisenkot beseeches Netanyahu’s voters to abandon the premier, warning that Israel cannot survive another four years under his leadership.

“I appeal from here to Likud supporters and all coalition voters who serve their country and work hard: I know how difficult it is to vote differently, but this time, it is not you who are choosing a different path — it is Likud that has strayed from its path,” Eisenkot says, addressing Likud voters. “Deep down, you know too that Israel cannot go on like this. Israel needs change. Look me in the eye. You can trust me.”

“Anyone who thinks our Israel can survive another four years like these is living under a dangerous misconception,” he warns. Referring to the outgoing government’s efforts to enshrine blanket exemptions to military service for Haredi men, he adds, “Draft evasion, failure, negligence, and lies — that is the path of the government of draft dodgers.”

He continues, “If we continue down this path, Israel will very soon cease to be the country we know. This is the final wake-up call.”

With Tuesday’s election expected to be closely fought, Eisenkot urges supporters to ensure that Yashar emerges significantly larger than Likud, arguing that a narrow victory would not be enough to unseat Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu wants a tie. Only then will he be able to claim that he needs to remain in office,” he says. “On Tuesday, Netanyahu must go home. That will happen only if Yashar wins significantly more seats than Likud.”

Under Israel’s electoral system, the president tasks the lawmaker deemed most likely to form a governing coalition with doing so, rather than automatically awarding the mandate to the leader of the largest party. A decisive lead over Likud could nevertheless strengthen Eisenkot’s claim to receive the first chance at assembling a government, particularly if neither supporters nor opponents of Netanyahu win a majority.