Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot accused caretaker premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of fuelling a “racist” campaign against the country’s Arab minority, after he sought to delegitimise the community’s lawmakers by linking them to Hamas.
Eisenkot’s statement was a rare instance of a prominent Jewish political leader taking a strong stand in defence of Arab Israelis, who make up more than 20% of the population.
Two Arab-majority parties, Raam and the Joint List, secured a combined 19 seats in last month’s election, winning nearly a sixth of the 120-seat parliament and potentially emerging as kingmakers in efforts by Eisenkot to form a government.
“Arab citizens of Israel are an integral part of the Israeli story,” Eisenkot wrote on X on Friday.
“They have been subjected to a racist and aggressive campaign of delegitimisation, fuelled by the outgoing prime minister and those around him for political purposes,” he added.
“The attempt to marginalise them and vilify them collectively is a profound violation of the principles of civic responsibility.”
Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly criticised leaders of Arab parties for refusing to describe Hamas as a “terror group” following its unprecedented 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
All leaders of Arab parties have condemned the attack, in which Arab Israelis – descendants of Palestinians who remained in what became Israel in 1948 – were also among those killed.
Netanyahu has also repeatedly alleged electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties, but electoral authorities have rejected the claims.
In a speech, Netanyahu lamented that the two Arab lists refused to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, although Raam leader Mansour Abbas has done so in the past.
He further claimed that they sought to establish either an “Islamic state” or a “nationalist Palestinian state”.
During the same ceremony, national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir heckled Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen during his oath of allegiance, accusing him of having “pledged allegiance to Hamas”.
“It is entirely legitimate to disagree with representatives of the Arab parties, even to strongly disapprove of some of them. But it is neither legitimate nor acceptable to malign an entire community, and I will not allow it,” Eisenkot said.
President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a new government on Sunday after consultations in which a majority of political parties, including the two Arab lists, recommended him for the role.
But one of Eisenkot’s rightwing allies, Avigdor Lieberman, has said he will back out of the coalition if Arab Israelis are part of it.
If Eisenkot fails to form a government within 28 days, he may request a 14-day extension. Should he still fall short, the mandate would pass to another lawmaker, most likely Netanyahu.
