Eisenkot Accuses Netanyahu of a 'Racist and Violent' Campaign Against Arab Citizens in Israel

Gadi Eisenkot, tasked with forming Israel's new government, accused interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of running a 'racist and violent' campaign against Palestinian citizens in Israel during the elections, in a lengthy post on the X platform on Friday.

Eisenkot noted that Arab citizens make up 21 percent of the total population, and said they 'faced a racist and violent campaign to delegitimize them' fueled by the outgoing prime minister and his circle for political reasons. Eisenkot stressed that the prime minister must be 'a prime minister for all citizens,' affirming that Arab citizens are part of the Israeli story, and he considered attempts to marginalize and distort them an act hostile to the state.

In the October 27 elections, Eisenkot's alliance, made up of four parties, won 48 seats, while Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc took 53 seats, meaning both fell short of the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. The Arab parties, which represent Palestinian citizens in Israel, won 19 seats, a record number.

Netanyahu had repeated unproven claims of electoral fraud by parties with an Arab majority, claims that the Israeli election authorities rejected. He also repeatedly criticized the Arab parties' refusal to describe Hamas as a 'terrorist organization' after the October 7, 2023 attack, even though the leaders of those parties all condemned the attack.

Eisenkot made clear that one can disagree with the representatives of the Arab parties and even feel 'deep disgust at some of them,' but that he would not allow 'the smearing of an entire sector.'

The Arab parties backed Eisenkot to replace Netanyahu, but he ruled out forming a government with them, which would have given him a bloc of 67 seats. Support from the two religiously ultra-Orthodox parties, Yahadut HaTorah and Shas, would give him exactly 61 seats. He stressed that he wants to implement the mandate as quickly as possible, adding that 'not doing so would be a grave mistake,' and he has six weeks to form the government.

He said he met Netanyahu and his military secretary on Thursday to discuss the security situation, without details. He had announced earlier in the week his openness to bringing Netanyahu into his coalition, and indicated that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is also welcome.

Reports said Netanyahu is studying a military operation against Iran, despite the lack of enthusiasm from the United States and its military establishment, and despite Eisenkot's warning to him to avoid any new escalation unless necessary. Eisenkot led the Israeli army between 2015 and 2019, and sat as an observer in the war cabinet during the first eight months of the war on Gaza that began in October 2023.