Gadi Eisenkot accuses Netanyahu of racist campaign

Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot accused caretaker premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of fuelling a “racist” campaign against Israel's Arab minority after Netanyahu linked Arab lawmakers to Hamas.

Eisenkot wrote on X that Arab citizens of Israel were “an integral part of the Israeli story” and said they had faced a campaign of delegitimisation for political purposes. He said disagreement with Arab party representatives was legitimate but that maligning an entire community was not acceptable.

Arab Israelis make up more than 20 percent of Israel's population. Two Arab-majority parties, Raam and the Joint List, won a combined 19 seats in last month's election, nearly a sixth of the 120-seat parliament, and could become important to Eisenkot's attempt to form a government.

Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly criticised leaders of Arab parties for refusing to describe Hamas as a terror group after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. All leaders of Arab parties have condemned the attack, in which Arab Israelis were also among those killed.

Netanyahu has also alleged electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties, claims rejected by electoral authorities. In a speech this week, he said the two Arab lists refused to recognise Israel as a Jewish state and claimed they sought to establish either an Islamic state or a nationalist Palestinian state.

President Isaac Herzog tasked Eisenkot with forming a government on Sunday after consultations in which a majority of political parties, including the two Arab lists, recommended him. Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government and may request a 14-day extension. If he fails, the mandate would pass to another lawmaker, most likely Netanyahu.