Eisenkot slams Netanyahu’s ‘racist’ campaign against Palestinian Israelis

Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot has accused caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of fuelling a “racist and violent” campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel during the elections. Eisenkot, who has been tasked with forming Israel’s new government , posted a lengthy social media update on recent developments in Israel on Friday. “Arab citizens of Israel make up 21 percent of the total population.

Since the start of the election campaign, they have faced a racist and violent campaign of delegitimisation fuelled by the outgoing prime minister and his circle for political reasons,” Eisenkot wrote on X. “The prime minister of Israel is the prime minister of all citizens, including those who did not vote for him,” he said. “Arab citizens of Israel are part of the Israeli story.

The attempt to marginalise them and smear them as a group is an anti-state act.” In Israel’s October 27 elections , Eisenkot’s four-party alliance won 48 seats, while Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc secured 53, leaving both short of the 61 needed for a parliamentary majority.