Eisenkot accuses Netanyahu of racist campaign against Israel's Arab citizens

An accusation from the opposition leader

Gadi Eisenkot, the Yashar leader whom President Isaac Herzog has tasked with forming a government, accused caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, 13 November, of fuelling a campaign against the country's Arab minority. In a long message on X, Eisenkot said Arab citizens make up 21% of the population and have been the target of the campaign since the start of the election race. He argued that trying to marginalise them as a group works against the interests of the state and dishonours the Declaration of Independence.

He also wrote that Arab citizens are part of the country's history, and he put the point in direct terms.

“Arab citizens of Israel are an integral part of the Israeli story.”

Arab parties at the centre of coalition talks

Eisenkot also took aim at the way Arab party leaders are being treated, and he drew a clear line between criticism and defamation.

“It is entirely legitimate to disagree with representatives of the Arab parties, even to strongly disapprove of some of them.”

Raam and the Joint List together won 19 of the 120 seats in the 27 October election, roughly a sixth of the Knesset. Neither the bloc backing Netanyahu nor the four opposition parties of Jewish base reached the 61-seat majority, which leaves the two Arab lists as potential kingmakers. Eisenkot has not yet given a green light to an alliance with them, despite repeated invitations from both parties, which have said they are ready to back his bloc. Netanyahu has accused Arab party leaders of refusing to describe Hamas as a terror organisation and has repeatedly alleged electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties, claims that electoral authorities rejected.

Netanyahu's address to the new Knesset

On Tuesday, 10 November, at the inaugural session of the new Knesset, Netanyahu called for a government of national unity to confront the threat from Iran. He rejected any coalition that depends on what he called supporters of terrorism and people who hate Israel, and he called Arab lawmakers supporters of terrorism and enemies of Israel. He faulted the two Arab lists for not accepting Israel's identity as a Jewish state, while noting that Raam's Mansour Abbas had accepted it in the past. He also claimed the lists were working toward either an Islamic state or a Palestinian nationalist one.

During the same ceremony, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir interrupted Joint List leader Youssef Jabareen's oath and claimed he had pledged loyalty to Hamas.

Letter, meeting and talks

Eisenkot wrote to Netanyahu asking him not to launch military action without a direct and immediate threat until a new government is formed, and he asked the attorney general to arrange regular security briefings. That letter came the day before the two men met on Thursday, 12 November. Eisenkot said only that he had made clear he would not accept a lack of oversight and gave no details of the conversation. Herzog's consultations left Eisenkot, whose bloc finished second in the vote, with more recommendations than any other candidate's.

What comes next

Eisenkot said his talks with partners had made "progress" and that his team was working to explore every available option. He said he would reach out to all elected officials who accept the principles laid out for a coalition that would remove Netanyahu from power. He framed his mandate from voters as a reason to move quickly, aiming to form a stable government as soon as possible.