Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of Israel’s Yashar party, who’s been tasked with forming a new Israeli government, has urged caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military escalations during the transition period amid reports that Netanyahu is pushing for a renewed bombing campaign against Iran.
“In recent weeks, deeply concerning reports have been published about extraneous considerations being introduced into the holiest of holies, Israel’s security,” Eisenkot said in a letter to Netanyahu, according to The Times of Israel.
Eisenkot told Netanyahu that he has to “exercise extra caution and responsibility in making security and national decisions” and that deploying “the security forces without a direct and immediate threat that cannot wait could have devastating consequences for Israeli democracy and public trust in the institutions of government.”
“I demand that you act with national responsibility during this sensitive period. Show restraint and caution, and refrain from dangerous moves that can wait until a new government with the Knesset’s confidence is sworn in,” he added.
Separately, Eisenkot has alleged that Netanyahu’s team has failed to provide him with security briefings, and he has asked Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to intervene.
Eisenkot’s efforts come after the Financial Times reported that Netanyahu had been calling President Trump every day to urge a new escalation against Iran. “Netanyahu calls him every day [to urge him to resume the war]. Those who don’t want a war within the White House and outside have been trying to combat that,” a source told the outlet.
It’s unlikely that Eisenkot, a former IDF general known for developing the Dahiya doctrine, an Israeli military strategy that calls for the use of massive force and large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure to combat groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, will bring much change to Israel’s wars and occupations in the region if he is successful in forming a government.
