A poll of Israeli voters published by Israel’s Channel 13 on Thursday showed that the largest share of respondents plans to vote for the Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, in the upcoming national elections. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s party has dropped from first to third. Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party remain in second. The elections will take place on or before October 27.

• Eisenkot was chief of staff for the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019.
• He served as a member of the Knesset for retired Gen. Benny Gantz’s National Unity party from 2022 to 2024. Gantz is no longer considered likely to become prime minister.
• Eisenkot founded Yashar (Hebrew for “upright”) last year.

Repeated polling suggests either Eisenkot or Bennett will become prime minister—if they make certain compromises.

• The polling suggests the Knesset’s anti-Netanyahu parties could only achieve a majority government through accepting an Arab-interest party in their coalition.
• Israel’s main Arab parties are either anti-Zionist or supportive of Islamist principles.
• Both Eisenkot and Bennett have discussed softening Netanyahu’s hardline position against Palestinians.

Love him or hate him, Prime Minister Netanyahu has arguably been the force giving Israeli politics some sense of stability in recent years. If he leaves this autumn, Israel could be in for a restart of the political instability that afflicted it before the October 7 massacre in 2023.