Gadi Eisenkot Denies Promising to Include Ra'am in Future Government

Several Arab local authority heads in northern Israel claim that Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the National Unity party, promised to include the Ra'am party in a future government he would lead. These officials, who met with Eisenkot on Tuesday, told N12 news that Eisenkot explicitly stated his intention to bring Ra'am into his government.

One attendee, Mayor of Toura-Zangaria Mu'id al-Hib, further reported that Eisenkot told the group he would not include Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in his government and that he was actively pursuing negotiations with Ra'am. Al-Hib stated that Eisenkot said he would work to add Ra'am to the next government headed by him.

The National Unity party vehemently denied these claims, issuing a statement calling them "lies and falsehoods." The party asserted that such statements were never made, not even implicitly. They reiterated their stance that any coalition partner must recognize Israel's founding principles, including its identity as a Jewish and democratic state, and commit to serving all its citizens.

Furthermore, the party emphasized that any party refusing to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization, which Israel is obligated to destroy, would not be part of a government they form. The party's position on this matter is described as clear and unequivocal.