Heads of Bedouin regional councils in northern Israel said that Lt. Gen. (res.) Gadi Eisenkot promised to include the predominantly Arab Ra’am Party in his coalition if he forms Israel’s next government, Channel 12 reported on Wednesday.
Eisenkot’s Yashar Party is currently the frontrunner in the upcoming elections for the Knesset on Oct. 27, according to various polls.
The former IDF chief told the local Bedouin authorities that he has no intention to add Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party or National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit faction to his coalition, said Mu’id al-Hayb, head of the Tuba-Zangariyye Local Council, in an interview with the Nazareth-based Nas Radio station.
On the other hand, discussions with Ra’am are underway and Eisenkot will act to include the party in his government, al-Hayb added.
The Yashar Party denied that any such promises were made.
“These things were never said, not even by implication. Yashar’s position on the matter is clear and unequivocal. Participation in the government will be possible only with parties that adhere to the three fundamental principles known and recognized by the public: recognition of the values of the Declaration of Independence; recognition of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; and service for all,” Channel 12 cited Eisenkot’s faction as saying in response.
“We also emphasized that parties that do not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization that the State of Israel has an obligation to destroy will not be part of a government we establish,” Yashar said.
The leader of Ra’am, lawmaker Mansour Abbas, came under heavy criticism after seemingly refusing to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization that needs to be destroyed, during an interview with Israeli radio station Kan Reshet Bet in July.
“Can you say unequivocally, clearly, that Hamas is a terrorist organization that massacred Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs, on Oct. 7, [2023] and needs to be eliminated?” Abbas was asked by interviewer Esti Perez-Ben Ami.
Abbas launched into a tirade about how his party was constantly being required to pass purity tests.
“We condemned every act of terrorism. We condemned the crimes of Oct. 7, not only from a secular viewpoint but also from an Islamic religious viewpoint. We came out against it,” he said. “And again they want to put us to the test.”
