Eisenkot urges respect for Israel’s Arab minority after Netanyahu attacks

JERUSALEM: Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot called on Friday for respect for the country’s Arab minority after caretaker premier Benjamin Netanyahu and other right-wing figures sought to delegitimize the community’s lawmakers by linking them to Hamas.

Two Arab-majority parties, Raam and the Joint List, secured a combined 19 seats in last month’s election, winning nearly a sixth of the 120-seat parliament and potentially emerging as kingmakers in efforts by Eisenkot to form a government.

“Arab citizens of Israel are an integral part of the Israeli story,” Eisenkot wrote on X on Friday.

“The attempt to marginalize them and vilify them collectively is a profound violation of the principles of civic responsibility.