Gadi Eisenkot Releases Meeting Footage Amid Claims of Government Coalition Talks

Following reports by N12, Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the National Unity party, has released video documentation of his meeting with Bedouin local authority heads in northern Israel. The release comes after some of these leaders claimed Eisenkot had promised to include the Ra'am party in a future government. Eisenkot and his party have vehemently denied these claims, stating that the issue of future government composition was not discussed during the meeting or a subsequent meal.

National Unity party officials stated, "To refute the lies being spread since this morning, the National Unity party with Eisenkot is publishing documentation of the meeting between the chairman and the Bedouin local authority heads. Throughout the entire meeting, Eisenkot did not discuss the issue of the composition and structure of the future government at all. Any other publication on the subject is false."

Monir Zbeidat, chairman of the Forum of Northern Bedouin Local Authority Heads, described the meeting as "positive and in good spirits." He added, "All the local authority heads presented their demands to Mr. Eisenkot, with the aim of building a better future for all citizens of the country, Arabs and Jews alike. During the meeting, requests were made by some of the local authority heads regarding the partnership of Arab public representatives. We respect the diversity of opinions and prefer to keep the direct and open discourse that took place with Mr. Eisenkot within the framework of the meeting."

Earlier, N12 reported that local authority heads in the north stated, "Eisenkot promised to add Ra'am to a government led by him." The National Unity party responded, "These words were never said, not even by implication. Parties that do not recognize Hamas as a terror organization that the State of Israel has a duty to destroy will not be part of a government we establish."