Eisenkot's Yashar launches campaign aiming to draw votes from opposition bloc, overtake Likud

Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party launches a campaign to draw votes from other opposition parties, aiming to overtake Likud and become the largest party in the Knesset, two weeks before the elections. The move contradicts recent agreements within the opposition's change bloc to postpone leadership discussions and focus on bloc-wide gains.

With two weeks until the elections, Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party has launched a campaign to draw votes from other parties in the opposition bloc, overtake Likud, and become the largest party in the Knesset. A message distributed to party activists states: "The race to become the largest party is close. We must be the largest party and overtake Likud. Only then will we be the first to receive the mandate to form a government." The move contradicts understandings reached about two weeks ago at a meeting of opposition change bloc leaders at Yair Lapid's home, where they agreed to postpone discussions over who would be their prime minister candidate until after the elections and focus on strengthening the bloc. Members of the change bloc expressed disappointment, with one source saying: "It's disappointing that after all the agreements and understandings to stop shooting inside the armored personnel carrier and focus on winning as a bloc, Eisenkot is returning to the same campaign." The meeting included Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman, and Yair Golan alongside Lapid and Eisenkot. A Channel 12 News poll published Wednesday shows a close race between Yashar and Likud for largest party, with Eisenkot leading Netanyahu 45% to 35% on suitability to serve as prime minister.