Eisenkot does not rule out sitting with Netanyahu but says ‘he needs to be replaced’

Ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot does not entirely rule out cooperation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the next election, although he believes the premier needs to be replaced.

Speaking with Radio 103FM, the former deputy head of the Blue and White party, who recently formed a new political platform, says that “anyone who was in office on October 7 must leave their position.” Asked what he would do if Netanyahu is reelected, he says, “If the public elects him, we’ll talk again. He needs to be replaced, we need to create a governing alternative. I’m not boycotting him, but I think he must resign.”

Eisenkot is part of the opposition “change bloc,” an alliance of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties that seek to oust Netanyahu and his hard-right coalition, and have been working on creating a mechanism for coordinating their efforts.

After quitting Blue and White this summer, Eisenkot dismissed media reports about deep ideological differences with party chairman Benny Gantz, including over whether to boycott Netanyahu or eventually sit with him in a government.

Gantz hasn’t expressly stated that he won’t sit in a government led by Netanyahu, and in August he proposed forming what he termed a “government of hostage redemption and equality in the [military] burden” with a clear six-month mandate to free the Gaza hostages and pass a Haredi military conscription bill, after which the country would head to elections. Netanyahu did not publicly respond.