Eisenkot Condemns Netanyahu’s ‘Racist’ Campaign Against Palestinian Citizens

Prime Ministerial candidate Gadi Eisenkot has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly running a “racist and violent” campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel. He accused Mr. Netanyahu and his associates of fuelling the campaign for political gain during the election campaign.
Mr. Eisenkot said attempts to denigrate and marginalise Arab citizens of Israel as a community amounted to an anti-state act.
In a lengthy post on social media platform X on Friday, Mr. Eisenkot outlined his position on the recent political situation. He said Arab citizens make up 21 per cent of Israel’s population and have been subjected to a racist and violent campaign to deny their legitimacy since the election campaign began. He alleged that outgoing Prime Minister Mr. Netanyahu and his associates were fuelling the campaign for political gain.
“Israel’s prime minister is the prime minister of all citizens, including those who did not vote for him. Arab citizens of Israel are part of the country’s history and identity. Attempts to marginalise them and stigmatise them as a community are anti-state acts,” Mr. Eisenkot wrote.
In Israel’s October 27 election, the four-party alliance led by Mr. Eisenkot secured 48 seats, while Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right and religious bloc won 53 seats. Neither side secured the 61 seats required to form a government. Meanwhile, Arab-led parties representing Palestinian citizens secured a record 19 seats.
Mr. Netanyahu repeatedly accused Arab-majority parties of electoral fraud during the election. However, no evidence was found to support his allegations. Israel’s electoral authorities also rejected the claims.
Mr. Netanyahu has also criticised Arab-led parties since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, accusing them of refusing to describe Hamas as a “terrorist organisation”. However, all the parties’ leaders had condemned the Hamas-led attack.
Mr. Eisenkot said, “People may disagree with representatives of Arab parties and may even have deep reservations about some of them. But an entire community cannot and should not be stigmatised. I will not allow that to happen.”
Arab-led parties have expressed support for replacing Mr. Netanyahu with Mr. Eisenkot as prime minister. However, Mr. Eisenkot has ruled out forming a government with their support. An alliance with them would give his bloc 67 seats. With the support of two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, his bloc would secure exactly 61 seats.
Mr. Eisenkot also spoke about efforts to form a national unity government. He said he wanted to take on the responsibility of forming a government as soon as possible, adding that failing to do so would be a serious mistake.
Netanyahu Considering Another Attack on Iran
Mr. Eisenkot, Mr. Netanyahu’s main rival in the election, has six weeks to form a new government. However, despite his politically weakened position, Mr. Netanyahu is reportedly considering another military strike on Iran.
According to reports, the United States, Israel’s military leadership and Mr. Eisenkot are not interested in such a move. Mr. Eisenkot has warned Mr. Netanyahu against escalating tensions with Iran again unless absolutely necessary.
In his Friday post, Mr. Eisenkot said he had met Mr. Netanyahu and his military secretary on Thursday to discuss the security situation. However, he did not disclose further details of the meeting.
Earlier this week, Mr. Eisenkot said he was willing to consider including Mr. Netanyahu in his coalition. He also indicated that he would welcome Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich into the alliance.
Mr. Eisenkot served as Israel’s army chief from 2015 to 2019. Following the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, he served as an observer in Mr. Netanyahu’s wartime Cabinet for the first eight months.