Gadi Eisenkot: "I don't recommend Netanyahu to test our children"

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot calls on leaders of the Change Bloc to commit that the head of the largest party will be the candidate for prime minister. In an interview with N12, he attacks his opponents, clarifies that the IDF will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is dismantled, demands a state commission of inquiry in the first week of the next government, and declares there will be no compromise on drafting the ultra-Orthodox. He also responds to the inclusion of his children in the political discourse: "They are very successful."

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot calls on leaders of the Change Bloc, including Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman, to commit in advance that the head of the largest party in the bloc will be the candidate for prime minister. In an interview with the program "Sheva" with Keren Marciano on N12, Eisenkot said that this is a principle he established upon entering politics, and it is meant to prevent a situation where a relatively small party demands the premiership after the elections. "Whoever thinks you can be prime minister with six or ten seats is wrong, and can bring about the mandate being given to Netanyahu," he said. According to him, such a move "actually endangers the replacement of this terrible government." Eisenkot was also asked about the possibility that Bennett and Liberman would unite after the elections and demand the premiership. "We are partners in the same goal, to replace this government and bring a message to the State of Israel," he said. "Such a move endangers the ability to form a government and gives Netanyahu chances for manipulations he can do even if he loses the elections." On the issue of the war in Gaza, Eisenkot presented a firm stance against an Israeli withdrawal before the dismantling of Hamas. "The IDF must remain in the Gaza Strip until the dismantling of Hamas's military power and demilitarization," he said. "Until that is achieved, there is neither total victory nor victory." He called for opening the protocols and showing the public how ministers voted on war-related issues. According to him, a state commission of inquiry should be established "in the first week of the next government." Eisenkot also took a firm line on the issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox. He said the existing arrangement should be abolished and a conscription law should be legislated that applies to all citizens of Israel. "I say to ultra-Orthodox Knesset members that there is one issue on which there will be no compromise, even at the cost of going to additional elections," he said. In the interview, Eisenkot also addressed the issue of his Moroccan origin, which has become part of the discourse around the election campaign. He said he is proud of his parents who immigrated from Morocco, but never saw his origin as a political tool. Eisenkot also attacked those who brought his family and children into the political discourse. "I don't recommend to Linon Magal or to Netanyahu to bring the test of the children, because I know my children," he said. "They are already adults, very successful, who served in the military, three of them as officers in the IDF."