Eisenkot Demands Respect for Arab Citizens Amid Netanyahu’s Delegitimization Campaign

JERUSALEM — Prime ministerial candidate Gadi Eisenkot urged respect for Israel’s Arab minority on Friday, pushing back against efforts by caretaker Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and other right-wing figures to delegitimize Arab lawmakers by associating them with Hamas.

The United Arab List (Raam) and the Joint List captured a combined 19 seats in last month’s election, securing nearly one-sixth of the 120-member Knesset and positioning themselves as potential kingmakers in Eisenkot’s coalition-building efforts.

“Arab citizens of Israel are an integral part of the Israeli story,” Eisenkov wrote on X Friday. “The attempt to marginalize them and vilify them collectively is a profound violation of the principles of civic responsibility. It dishonors Israel’s Declaration of Independence and the values we take pride in as a Jewish and democratic state.”

Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly assailed Arab party leaders for declining to label Hamas a “terror group” following the October 7, 2023 attack. All Arab party leaders condemned the assault, in which Arab Israelis — descendants of Palestinians who remained in what became Israel in 1948 and now comprise over 20 percent of the population — were among the victims.

The caretaker premier has also repeatedly alleged electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties, claims electoral authorities have dismissed. At this week’s Knesset inauguration, Netanyahu lamented that the two Arab lists refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, though Raam leader Mansour Abbas has done so previously. He further claimed they seek to establish either an “Islamic state” or a “nationalist Palestinian state.”

During the same ceremony, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir interrupted Joint List leader Youssef Jabareen’s 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,” Eisenkot said. “But it is neither legitimate nor acceptable to malign an entire community, and I will not allow it.”

President Isaac Herzog tapped Eisenkot to form a government Sunday after a majority of parties, including both Arab lists, recommended him. However, right-wing ally Avigdor Liberman has threatened to bolt the coalition if Arab parties are included.

Eisenkot has 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible 14-day extension. Failure would return the mandate to another lawmaker, most likely Netanyahu.

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