Eisenkot, Lapid slam Netanyahu’s updated security doctrine as ‘hollow’ election push, pledge alternative plans

Leading opposition figures Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Lapid sharply criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s updated national security doctrine, which he unveiled in a rare briefing with Israeli reporters yesterday, accusing him of presenting election slogans rather than a coherent strategy for addressing Israel’s security challenges three years after the Hamas-led October 7 massacre.

While Netanyahu stressed a transition from containment to offensive action in his doctrine, both opposition leaders frame the doctrine’s release, nine days before the October 27 election, as an attempt to deflect attention from Netanyahu’s record rather than meaningfully confront the lessons of October 7.

Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s chief election rival, calls the two-page document released by the premier’s office “hollow” and “filled with slogans that have absolutely nothing to do with a security doctrine.”

In a Hebrew-language post on X, he accuses the premier of failing to achieve four key war objectives: destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, deterring Hezbollah and other northern threats, maintaining stability in the West Bank, and preserving national unity.

Eisenkot pledges that a government under his leadership would formulate and formally adopt a national security strategy within 150 days of taking office, in accordance with legislation he says he advanced alongside former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein.

In a separate Hebrew-language post, Lapid similarly dismisses Netanyahu’s presentation as “a collection of inflated slogans devoid of substance.”

He points to the exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service despite the doctrine’s emphasis on military superiority, Netanyahu’s refusal to establish a state commission of inquiry into October 7 despite stressing intelligence preparedness, and Israel’s deteriorating international standing despite promises to strengthen strategic alliances.

Netanyahu addressed criticisms on those issues during his briefing yesterday by advocating for his coalition’s draft law, establishing a politically appointed commission of inquiry, and arguing that Israel’s military and industry would continue to boost ties despite its current isolation on the world stage.

For his part, Lapid pledges to end Netanyahu’s “policy of containment” by excluding Turkey and Qatar from Gaza’s postwar arrangements, halting the flow of Qatari funds into the territory, eliminating Hamas’s military capabilities and Hezbollah’s remaining presence in southern Lebanon, and intensifying operations against Iran, including strikes on its oil industry.

He stresses his proposal for recruiting 20,000 ultra-Orthodox men within two years, arguing that ending financial support for draft evasion could save the economy some NIS 30 billion annually, which could then be directed toward defense without raising taxes.