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Former army chief shakes up Israeli political balance

Prime Minister Yair Lapid and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu are both worried over the decision of former Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot to join the new party of Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Israel's former army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Defense Minister and Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz, and Justice Minister and New Hope party chief Gideon Saar pose for pictures during a joint press conference, Ramat Gan, Israel, Aug. 14, 2022.

For several weeks now, reports claimed former Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot was considering entering politics, and that quite a few parties were courting the ex-general to join them. Then, on Aug. 14, Eizenkot announced he has decided to join the party headed by another former chief of staff, Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

It is still too early to determine whether Eizenkot’s decision to enter politics will be a real game changer, and whether it would enable the formation of a stable government without including former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, with less then three months until the Nov. 1 elections, Eizenkot could very well be the one to tip one way or another the political power scale.

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