Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli prime ministerial hopeful tasked with forming the next government, has accused caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fuelling a “racist and violent” campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel during the October 27 elections. In a lengthy social media update on Friday, Eisenkot said Arab citizens make up 21 percent of Israel’s population and have faced delegitimisation driven by the outgoing premier and his circle for political reasons. The dispute comes as both blocs remain short of the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority, with Eisenkot’s four-party alliance holding 48 seats, Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc 53, and Arab-led parties a record 19.
Key Takeaways: Eisenkot’s alliance won 48 seats and Netanyahu’s bloc 53 in the October 27 vote, leaving both below the 61-seat threshold; Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats. Eisenkot says Netanyahu’s claims of electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties have been rejected by the Israeli regime’s own electoral authorities. Eisenkot has six weeks to form a government and has ruled out relying on Arab-led parties despite their endorsement of him.
The political standoff is unfolding against a background of deep polarisation in Israel, where coalition arithmetic gives Arab-led parties unusual leverage even though Eisenkot has refused to include them in his government. Arab-led parties have endorsed Eisenkot to replace Netanyahu, which would give him a 67-seat bloc, but he has ruled out forming a government with those parties. Winning the backing of the two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would give him exactly 61 seats. The caretaker premier has repeatedly criticised Arab-led parties for refusing to describe Hamas as a “terror group” after the October 7, 2023, attack, although all of the parties’ leaders condemned the Hamas-led assault.
In his post on X, Eisenkot wrote: “The prime minister of Israel is the prime minister of all citizens, including those who did not vote for him.” He added: “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.” He also said: “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.” Netanyahu has repeatedly made unproven allegations of electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties, claims the Israeli regime’s own electoral authorities have rejected, according to the report.
Eisenkot, who led Israel’s military from 2015 to 2019 and sat as an observer in Netanyahu’s war cabinet for the first eight months of the war in Gaza that began in October 2023, said he met Netanyahu and his military secretary on Thursday to discuss the security situation but provided no details. He reiterated that he wants to fulfil his mandate as soon as possible, adding that “it would be a grave mistake not to do so.” Earlier in the week, he said he was open to including Netanyahu in his coalition and suggested that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was also welcome to join.
The Israeli regime’s caretaker leader may be politically weakened, but he is reportedly weighing military action against Iran, despite a lack of enthusiasm from the United States, his own military establishment, and Eisenkot, who has demanded that Netanyahu avoid any new escalation unless it is critical. With six weeks to form a government, Eisenkot’s next moves will be closely watched: whether he can secure exactly 61 seats through the ultra-Orthodox parties, whether Netanyahu’s bloc can peel away defectors, and whether security tensions with Iran overshadow coalition bargaining. The outcome will shape the direction of the Israeli regime and its approach to Palestinian citizens, regional escalation, and the Gaza war.
Source: www.aljazeera.com