Eisenkot urges voters to ignore ‘spin’ after Liberman’s attack

By Ariela Karmel

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Today, 3:01 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Left: Yashar party leader and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot campaigns ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, in Kiryat Malachi, August 17, 2026. Right: Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on July 7, 2025. (Amir Cohen/Reuters, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot warns that politicians who put personal interests first could risk unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, in an apparent response to fellow opposition leader and Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman’s attack on Eisenkot earlier today.

“We are 11 days away from the most consequential election since the founding of the state,” Eisenkot says. “The people of Israel will not forgive politicians who fail to rise to the moment because of a seat or personal interests, and who prevent the replacement of the October 7 government.”

He urges Israelis who want change to “ignore the spin” and “not be rattled by the background noise.”

Eisenkot says his mission is to secure “a clear majority of more than 61 Zionist seats for change,” and calls on everyone in the “bloc for change and hope” to focus on replacing “the leadership responsible for October 7,” who he says “must not remain in office for even one more day.”

He adds that he is working “around the clock” to bring more voters “fed up with draft dodging, division and the lies of the Netanyahu government” to choose a different path.

Liberman accused Eisenkot of plotting to join forces with Likud after the election to form a unity government with Netanyahu, and called him “Gantz 2,” referring to Benny Gantz’s past decisions to join Netanyahu-led governments.

Gantz defends Eisenkot, saying that in 30 years in politics, Liberman “hasn’t done 10% of what Gadi Eisenkot and I have done for the State of Israel.”