A rare defence of Arab Israelis

Gadi Eisenkot, who is bidding for the premiership, on Friday publicly charged caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with driving a racist campaign against Israel's Arab minority. Such a forceful public defence of Arab Israelis from a leading Jewish politician is unusual.

On X, Eisenkot wrote that Arab citizens of Israel are an integral part of the Israeli story.

According to Eisenkot, the community has faced a racist and aggressive campaign of delegitimisation, one he said the outgoing prime minister and his circle have fuelled for political gain. To marginalise Arab citizens and vilify them collectively, he argued, is a profound violation of the principles of civic responsibility.

While disagreement with Arab party representatives is legitimate, Eisenkot wrote that maligning an entire community crosses the line.

Netanyahu's claims against the Arab lists

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

The allegations and their rebuttals, as the report sets them out:

• •Netanyahu has repeatedly alleged electoral fraud by Arab-majority parties; electoral authorities have rejected the claims.
• •In a speech he lamented that the two Arab lists refuse to recognise Israel as a Jewish state, though Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas has done so in the past.
• •He claimed the Arab lists seek to establish either an Islamic state or a nationalist Palestinian state.
• •At the same ceremony, national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir shouted over Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen as he took his oath of allegiance, alleging the lawmaker had pledged allegiance to Hamas.

Arab parties' weight in coalition talks

Arab Israelis, descendants of Palestinians who remained in what became Israel in 1948, make up more than 20% of the population. The stakes in the knesset coalition formation are high:

• •Ra'am and the Joint List won a combined 19 seats in last month's election - nearly a sixth of the 120-seat parliament - potentially making them kingmakers in Eisenkot's coalition efforts.
• •On Sunday, after consultations in which a majority of parties - among them both Arab lists - recommended Eisenkot, President Isaac Herzog gave him the job of forming a new government.
• •Rightwing ally Avigdor Lieberman has said he will back out of the coalition if Arab Israelis are part of it.

Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government and may request a 14-day extension; if he still fails, the mandate would likely pass to Netanyahu.