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How Israel's political parties headhunt generals

Labor head Avi Gabbay and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid both know that to win the premiership they must add a prominent ex-general to their Knesset lists.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon (L) attend a news conference while Israeli military chief Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz speaks in Tel Aviv July 28, 2014. Palestinian fighters slipped into an Israeli village from the Gaza Strip and fought a gun battle with troops on Monday as an unofficial truce called for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival disintegrated. The incident was not the only breach of the fragile truce. Eight children and two adults were killed by a bl
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Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid and former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon have gotten into the routine of holding regular meetings between just the two of them, sometimes as frequently as twice a month.

Lapid usually shows up at Ya'alon's office in the Ramat HaHayal neighborhood of northern Tel Aviv and meets with him behind closed doors. Ya'alon's secretaries already know how Lapid drinks his coffee, and the mood is like a meeting of old pals, trying to find the ideal formula that would allow them to cooperate as soon as a new election is announced.

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