Eisenkot catches Likud in its own trap: Now Netanyahu is in the crosshairs

The Yashar! party with Eisenkot filed a petition today, Wednesday, to the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, demanding an order for Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party to remove dozens of campaign posts from Netanyahu's Facebook account.

In the petition, filed by attorneys Uri Haberman and Guy Cohen, it is claimed that the posts make repeated and prominent use of IDF soldiers in uniform, officers and commanders, military equipment and weaponry, and footage of operational activity as part of campaign messaging.

Among other things, the petition refers to the permanent cover photo on Netanyahu's Facebook account where he is shown surrounded by IDF soldiers, a video from August 5th depicting a meeting with recruits, and videos incorporating soldiers, pilots, and footage of operational activity in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon.

In the petition, Yashar! clarifies that Netanyahu's account does not involve the incidental appearance of a soldier in the background, but rather a repeated and extensive pattern over months: Netanyahu is photographed alongside soldiers in uniform, speaking to them, conversing with them, shaking their hands, and awarding ranks to officers; and in other posts, IDF soldiers, combat equipment, and footage of operational activity are integrated as part of the message conveyed to the public.

In Yashar! with Eisenkot, they stated:

"The Likud party itself asked the Central Elections Committee to determine that the use of IDF soldiers in election propaganda is improper. The Central Elections Committee accepted its position and set the standard. Now, when it appears on Benjamin Netanyahu's own page, Likud is asked to respect that exact same standard."

The petition comes just days after the decision of the Central Elections Committee Chairman regarding a petition filed by Likud against Yashar!, in which it was determined that repeated, prominent, and substantive use of the figures of IDF soldiers in uniform within election propaganda may constitute prohibited use of a public intangible asset. This decision joins a previous ruling by Judge Sohlberg from August 9th, when he ordered the blurring of the figures of police-security guards in an election propaganda video by Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.