
Former head of the Armed Forces criticizes prime minister for divisive speech and points out violation of principles of statesmanship
Gadi Eisenkot, in charge of forming Israel's next government, accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of leading a racist and aggressive campaign against Arab citizens following a divisive speech in Parliament.
AI-generated summary
Gadi Eisenkot received the mandate from President Isaac Herzog to form a government after inconclusive elections. Arab parties support the initiative against Binyamin Netanyahu.
Gadi Eisenkot, former head of the Armed Forces who is trying to form Israel's next government, accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu this Friday (13) of fueling a racist campaign against the country's Arab citizens, in one of the most scathing public criticisms of his rival's attacks against this portion of the population.
The statements came just days after Netanyahu delivered a divisive speech at the opening session of Parliament, the Knesset, in which he called Arab parliamentarians "supporters of terrorism" and "enemies of Israel."
Diplomats and analysts condemned the statements as a brazen display of hatred and incitement against Arab citizens, who represent around 20% of the total population and turned out en masse to the polls in last month's inconclusive elections.
"Since the beginning of the election campaign, they have been the target of a racist and aggressive delegitimization campaign, fueled by the outgoing prime minister and those around him for political purposes," Eisenkot said in a statement on social media.
"Israel's Arab citizens are an integral part of Israeli history," he said, adding that it was wrong to defame an entire community.
"The attempt to collectively marginalize and defame them constitutes a serious violation of the principles of statesmanship," Eisenkot said. "It dishonors Israel's Declaration of Independence and the values we pride ourselves on as a Jewish and democratic state."
The Declaration of Independence states that all citizens have equal social and political rights, "without distinction as to religion, race, or sex."
On Sunday (8), President Isaac Herzog granted Eisenkot the mandate to try to form a government, after 67 of the 120 members of the new Parliament supported the opposition leader for the position of prime minister. He has up to six weeks to form a government coalition.
Netanyahu and his allies claimed, without providing evidence, that Arab voters stole the election, after his party's Likud bloc won fewer seats than its opponents. Arab parties supported Eisenkot's attempt to form a government and said they were determined to remove the current prime minister from power.
In his speech, Netanyahu attacked the Arab parties, which received more than 835 thousand votes. "To those who think about forming a government with these people, I ask: are you willing to depend on those whose goal is the destruction of the Jewish state?" he said.
The Arab parties that won enough votes to enter the Knesset are Ra'am, a pragmatic Islamist party, and the Joint List, an alliance of three different groups that includes Palestinian leftists and nationalists.
Ra'am has sought to gain greater acceptance by focusing more on issues affecting Israel's Arab citizens — such as crime and discriminatory housing policies — than on the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The Joint List has also fought for the rights of Arab citizens, but frequently criticizes Tel Aviv's treatment of Palestinians and defines itself as "a true democratic alternative to the racist Zionist consensus."
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Eisenkot will try to form a government coalition
Very likely · Within weeks

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