While intense conflicts are taking place in Israeli society against the participation of any Arab party in the government that Gadi Eisenkot is trying to form, it became clear from reviewing the data of the members of the new Knesset that there are 11 people who hold doctorates, eight of whom are Arabs.
One of them is the head of the Joint List, Youssef Jabareen, who holds a doctorate in law. Of the three Jewish representatives who hold this degree, Ofer Kassif belongs to the Joint Arab List. In practice, this means that the Arab lists have nine representatives who hold doctorates, and that rejecting their presence in the government is not only a blatant indication of “racism,” but also of the war of ignorance against science.
In addition to Jabareen and Kassif, the Knesset now includes from the “Joint Arab List” PhD holders: Ahmed Tibi (doctor), Faten Ghattas (philosophy), Maha Karkabi-Sabah (social sciences), Nahia Weshahi (education), and Hassan Nasasra (management of public institutions).
There are two others on the “Unified Arab List”: Mansour Abbas (dentistry) and Yasser Hujayrat (genetics). From Likud there is Shlomo Karai (industrial engineering and management), and from Religious Zionism there is Zvika Mor (education).
It is noteworthy that the number of doctoral holders in the current Knesset is seven, four of whom are Arabs.
The task of forming the government collides with a brutal war waged by the Likud, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, and his allies against the possible partnership with the Arab parties. Gadi Eisenkot, the former army commander and leader of the Yashar Party, is moving towards establishing a minority government, but in partnership with the extremist religious parties or part of them, with external support from the Arab parties or some of them.
Although the talks with the Arab parties are taking place timidly, those close to Eisenkot confirm that he “is determined to move forward to exclude Netanyahu at any cost,” and that he apologizes to US President Donald Trump for forming a unity government at this stage. He draws encouragement from many political forces demanding that he speed up the establishment of the government, holding demonstrations and publishing petitions in this direction.
According to someone close to Eisenkot, he is acting with steadfastness and determination, as he did during the days of his leadership of the army. Since he still refrains from forming a government in effective partnership with an Arab party, he is ready to include Representative Yoav Seglovitch from the “United Arab List,” the “Bayahad” party led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid (12 deputies), the Democrats (8 deputies), and the United Torah Judaism Party (7 deputies); Then he has 48 deputies. While Lieberman (7 representatives) remains with the Arabs outside the coalition, but not against it either. In this case, he can rule for a limited period, while continuing efforts to expand the government.
On Saturday evening, Eisenkot published a written statement in a way that suggested the negotiations taking place behind the scenes. He said that he intends to work immediately to achieve a parliamentary majority to form the next government with “the broadest possible composition.”
In the face of the campaign of incitement against him because of his reliance on the Arabs, he set a list of priorities that puts the contents before the people. He said that he intends to “work first to establish an official investigation committee into the failure of October 7, 2023, and push towards imposing service (military or civil) on everyone, and take immediate steps to increase the number of recruits in the Israeli army and strengthen its ranks, abolish the laws of coup against the judicial system, and make efforts to restore Israel’s international standing.”
Eisenkot wrote: “Over the past year, these elections have been described as the most crucial in the history of Israel, and their results are clear, despite the presence of those who seek to question them and challenge their integrity. The right has lost power. I pledged to reunite Israel and put an end to the culture of lying led by Netanyahu and tearing us apart from within.”
He added: “During the election campaign, I set a goal of establishing an official Zionist government that would enjoy the broadest possible national consensus and lead to recovery and bring about a fundamental change in the path that Israel is taking.”
In a paragraph addressed to President Trump, to explain his refusal to form a unity government with Netanyahu, Eisenkot wrote: “It is clear that the high voting rates, in addition to the challenges presented, require that exceptional efforts be made to avoid holding new elections and entering into another long-term political crisis, by all possible means. The public has spoken, and the decision regarding the formation of the next Israeli government belongs to the citizens of Israel alone, without interference or manipulation, and this is as it should be. I will work in every way to reach a national consensus as broad as possible, so that we can begin the process of reform and rehabilitation.”
He concluded by saying: “The war against our enemies has not ended, and the goals of the war have not been achieved. Until the government is formed, I will not provide support for military operations unless there are direct and immediate threats against Israel that cannot be postponed until the new government is sworn in.
While Eisenkot is conducting his talks, Likud and its allies are surrounding him with a strong, reckless campaign of incitement, to the point that the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir considered him “an agent of the deep state that has set the goal of destroying Netanyahu for years.”
Five ministers close to Netanyahu made contact with representatives from the Yashar Party, who were trying to defect from him in exchange for obtaining senior positions in Netanyahu’s government. When they encountered rejection, they offered to object to the dismissal of the Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, or to abstain from voting.
Likud called for a demonstration in Tel Aviv against establishing a government with the Arab parties, which it described as “supporting terrorism,” but it was weak and included hundreds. In exchange for another demonstration in which several thousand participated, calling for the establishment of a government with the participation of Arab parties.
In light of this, Likud decided to hold demonstrations in front of the homes of the new Knesset members from the Yashar Party to object to the formation of such a government.
Iranian military officials escalated their threats to target American interests outside the borders of West Asia, warning that any future war would be broader and longer than the previous one, the day after the Iranian leader ordered to respond to any threat “without geographical restrictions.”
On Saturday, during his first announced meeting with senior commanders of the armed forces, Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the “Aims Bank” to be updated to include the tangible and intangible assets of the United States and Israel.
Khamenei demanded that every level and type of threat be met with an “immediate and effective response and without geographical restrictions,” warning that if enemies resume “military or terrorist attacks,” the armed forces and the Iranian people will be the ones who determine the timing and circumstances of their end.
The meeting was attended by Chief of the General Staff Ali Abdullahi, Commander-in-Chief of the Army Amir Hatami, and Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guard, Ahmed Vahidi, who presented reports on readiness on the Gulf coasts, in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, and on the northwestern and southeastern borders, and on increasing the production of ammunition and reconnaissance, support, and combat weapons “several times,” according to a statement from the Iranian Supreme Leader’s office.
Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaqi promised to work “quickly” to raise the combat capabilities of the armed forces to achieve “an immediate, effective and proportionate response to any threat, at any point and without geographical restrictions.”
Akhlaqi explained, in a statement broadcast on state television, that “accelerating the cycle of designing, producing and securing defensive equipment and weapons, strengthening the industrial and technological infrastructure, and raising the ability to support the armed forces are at the core of our measures.”
He warned that “any attack will be met with a proportionate, decisive and effective response, and those threatened will not determine the scope, timing and repercussions of the Iranian defensive response,” adding: “Iran will not be surprised in the face of the threat, it will not stop in the face of pressure, and it will not be limited by the calculations of others and their will in the path of scientific and technological progress.” We will not hesitate for a moment to protect the country’s security, independence and territorial integrity.”
In turn, the spokesman for the Revolutionary Guard, Hussein Mohebi, said, “In the war with America, there are no geographical restrictions, and a wide field has been identified to harm the enemy and achieve complete deterrence.”
He considered that the United States, despite having the largest naval power in the world and its military presence in the region for decades, “could not even open the Strait of Hormuz for a few hours,” and that “the world understood that America was too small to be able to secure the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.” He asked: “America cannot defend itself, so how does it want to defend other countries?”
Mohebi claimed that Iran shot down the F-35 fighter, describing it as the highest level of American military technology in the airspace.
For his part, Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akrami Nia announced that the armed forces are ready to respond to the United States “even outside West Asia,” warning that any “new American aggression” will face “an immediate, overwhelming, and broader response than before.”
He added that “America’s facilities, equipment, forces and interests, at any point within reach, could be a target for response,” and that “the enemy must not imagine that the scope of the Islamic Republic’s response will necessarily remain limited to the geographical scope of previous confrontations.”
He went on to warn: “The next potential war may be much longer than the previous war, and the American president will not be able to determine the date and circumstances of its end,” calling on the Americans and Washington’s European allies to realize that the Iranian initiative will have a “fundamental role” in determining the fate of any confrontation.
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, revealed on Saturday that Tehran is considering canceling a long-term ban it imposes on nuclear weapons if hostilities resume, noting that no decision has been taken yet. Reuters quoted Rezaei as saying to state television that talks on the nuclear program cannot be held unless Washington accepts Tehran’s demands.
Rezaei said: “If the war starts again, we will break America’s century,” claiming that Iran tested its anti-ship missiles “above the aircraft carrier George Washington.”
As for Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, he vowed on the “X” platform to deliver an “earth-shaking blow” to anyone who dares to harm the Iranians, saying that there will no longer be any “red lines.”
Tehran stipulated the implementation of seven conditions before any negotiations with Washington. A member of the National Security Committee in Parliament and a leader in the Revolutionary Guards, Ismail Kothari, told the reformist ILNA news agency on Sunday: “We will not enter into negotiations with Washington until the seven items announced by the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council are implemented.”
He attributed his position to “previous experiences,” and said in this regard: “Whenever we negotiated, the Americans acted in different ways, contrary to the agreements and the course of the negotiations. Either they forced war on us, or they did not abide by the pledges they were supposed to fulfill. For this reason, we are not optimistic about America or those coming from its side to negotiate.”
The Iranian warnings coincided with talks held by Iranian negotiators with Qatari mediators in Doha, on Saturday, after meetings that lasted more than 12 hours in Tehran, on Friday.
Reuters quoted an informed source that the Qatari mediators presented to Tehran a seven-day plan, under which the United States and Iran would take daily steps to build confidence before broader negotiations to end the war.
But an Iranian official said that Tehran did not consider the proposal satisfactory. Iran is adhering to a separate plan that it put forward since September, which includes lifting the blockade on its ports, releasing frozen assets, and making arrangements for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a message conveyed by the Qatari mediators, US Vice President J.D. Vance suggested to Rezaei to resume negotiations, and offered to lead the American delegation himself, according to American press reports. Rezaei responded on Saturday that he had read the letter and had not answered it yet, and that the tone of the Americans had “completely changed,” while Araqchi said that Tehran did not currently see the need to meet with the American side.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Trump had not decided on the resumption of attacks, but that he “prefers to resolve the matter through diplomatic means,” with Washington confident of its ability to take military action “if we need to.”
In recent days, Trump spoke of the possibility of carrying out “another small operation” against Iran, before the US midterm elections, on Tuesday.
