Gotliv Criticizes Eisenkot's Record as IDF Chief

Knesset member Tally Gotliv sharply criticized Yashar party chairman and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, saying her time with him on the Knesset's classified Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee left her doubting he had ever led the army.

"I sat with Gadi Eisenkot for a year and a half on the classified Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. I couldn't believe this man had been chief of staff," she said in an interview with Eli Tzipori on Galei Israel radio. Her remarks came amid coalition negotiations to form a government and growing tension between the political blocs.

She argued that the policies Eisenkot pursued as army chief hurt Israel's military readiness. "I want to remind you that he conceived the Gideon multi-year plan, 'a small and smart army,' and gave up on the tanks. He is the one who, in a chief of staff's uniform, said that Qatari money should be allowed into Gaza to serve and be used by Hamas's administration. I have it all," she said.

She added that there is no chance of a coalition partnership between Eisenkot and Netanyahu. According to Gotliv, the forces behind Eisenkot's party will prevent him from joining a Likud-led government.

"I was willing to accept everything. I was willing to accept that he has no charisma and doesn't inspire people, and he's the ultimate puppet," she said. "Check who donated to his party, and you'll find that it's the Kaplan Force on steroids. And that's why Eisenkot will never sit under Prime Minister Netanyahu."

The "Kaplan Force" is a reference to the protest movement that held weekly demonstrations on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv against the government's judicial reform.