Gadi Eisenkot Rules Out Ra'am in Future Israeli Government

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the "Yash!" party, stated in an interview on "Meet the Press" that the Arab party Ra'am will not be part of any future government he leads. He outlined three ethical rules, plus a fourth, that potential coalition partners must accept: adherence to a Jewish and democratic state, the Declaration of Independence, the duty of service, and crucially, the recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be destroyed. Eisenkot believes no Arab or Haredi party currently meets these criteria, including Ra'am led by Mansour Abbas.

Eisenkot also addressed the issue of Qatari funding to Gaza, directly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He asserted that a prime minister aware of funds designated for civilians being diverted to Hamas's military wing, and failing to stop it, is complicit in either embezzlement or treason, calling for an investigation. He also discussed the upcoming meeting of the "change bloc" leaders, emphasizing their shared goal of winning the next election and aiming for 63-65 Knesset seats.

Regarding the war and intelligence failures, Eisenkot revealed that a severe warning about an impending "earthquake" from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was delivered to Netanyahu on September 14, 2023, a month before the October 7th attacks, but no action was taken. He also criticized Netanyahu's handling of Qatari money transfers, suggesting that the prime minister's decision not to halt funds to Hamas's military wing after being alerted was "unreasonable" and potentially amounted to treason. Eisenkot further claimed that Netanyahu deliberately delayed implementing a plan to eliminate Hamas leadership and that the prime minister prolongs the war for political survival.

Eisenkot also touched upon military strategy, stating that the Mossad had devised a plan to trap Hezbollah by planting tens of thousands of explosives, which he advocated for but Netanyahu allegedly rejected. He expressed disappointment that grand plans for Lebanon were not executed, suggesting a decisive victory could have been achieved. He also criticized Netanyahu's post-October 7th statements, calling him a "pathological liar" who is detached from reality and uses the war for political gain.