Eisenkot Hits Out At Netanyahu Over Anti-Arab Campaign Amid Israel Election Deadlock

Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot has accused outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fuelling a “racist and violent” campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel, alleging that the community has been targeted with attempts at political delegitimisation during the election campaign.

In a social media statement on Friday, Eisenkot condemned what he described as efforts by Netanyahu and his associates to marginalise Arab citizens for political reasons, insisting that they were an integral part of Israeli society. The remarks come amid a political deadlock following the October 27 elections, in which neither of the two main blocs secured the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority, Al Jazeera reported.

Eisenkot, who has been tasked with forming Israel's next government, said Arab citizens account for 21 per cent of the country's population and have faced a sustained campaign against them since the election process began.

“Arab citizens of Israel make up 21 percent of the total population. Since the start of the election campaign, they have faced a racist and violent campaign of delegitimisation fuelled by the outgoing prime minister and his circle for political reasons,” Eisenkot wrote on X.

He further stressed that the Israeli prime minister was responsible for representing all citizens, irrespective of their political choices.

“The prime minister of Israel is the prime minister of all citizens, including those who did not vote for him,” he said. “Arab citizens of Israel are part of the Israeli story. The attempt to marginalise them and smear them as a group is an anti-state act.”

Election deadlock puts Arab parties in focus

The October 27 election results left Eisenkot's four-party alliance with 48 seats, while Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc secured 53. Neither side reached the 61-seat threshold needed for a parliamentary majority. Meanwhile, Arab-led parties, which represent Palestinian citizens of Israel, won a record 19 seats, Al Jazeera reported.

Netanyahu repeatedly alleged electoral fraud involving Arab-majority parties, but Israel's Central Elections Committee certified the election results after finding no evidence of fraud.

Netanyahu has also criticised Arab-led parties for not describing Hamas as a “terror group” following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The criticism came despite the leaders of all the parties having condemned the Hamas-led assault.

Eisenkot said disagreements with Arab political representatives could not justify targeting an entire community.

“One can disagree with the representatives of the Arab parties, and one can even feel deep revulsion toward some of them, but one cannot, should not, and I will not allow an entire sector to be slandered,” he said.

Although Arab-led parties have endorsed Eisenkot's bid to replace Netanyahu, he has ruled out forming a government with them. Their support would give his alliance a combined strength of 67 seats.

Instead, securing the backing of the two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would bring Eisenkot's potential coalition to exactly 61 seats.

Reiterating his position on forming an emergency government, Eisenkot said he wanted to complete the process of government formation as quickly as possible, warning that failing to do so would be “a grave mistake”.

Netanyahu weighs possible military action against Iran

Despite the political setback, Netanyahu is reportedly considering renewed military action against Iran. The possibility comes amid limited enthusiasm for another escalation from the United States, Israel's military establishment and Eisenkot himself.

Eisenkot has called on Netanyahu to refrain from launching another escalation unless military action is critical.

In his Friday statement, Eisenkot confirmed that he had met Netanyahu and the prime minister's military secretary on Thursday to discuss the security situation. However, he did not disclose details of their discussions, according to Al Jazeera.

Earlier in the week, Eisenkot had indicated that he was willing to consider including Netanyahu in his proposed coalition. He also suggested that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich could join the government.

Eisenkot, who contested the election as Netanyahu's principal rival, has up to six weeks to form a new government.

He previously served as chief of the Israeli military from 2015 to 2019. He also sat as an observer in Netanyahu's war cabinet during the first eight months of Israel's war on Gaza, which began in October 2023 and which Al Jazeera has described as genocidal.