Eizenkot party petitions election panel to remove Smotrich AI video on Palestinian state

Gadi Eizenkot’s Yesh! party filed a petition with the Central Elections Committee against the Religious Zionism party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, demanding removal of a social media video that says, “In Eizenkot’s government, Regional Cooperation Minister Naftali Bennett will establish a Palestinian state.” The petition, reported Friday by Walla, says the clip was created with AI and is part of what the party calls a deliberate effort to mislead voters.

Yesh! argued that the video falsely tries to create a link between reserve Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and MK Mansour Abbas. The party described the clip as an attempt to “spread hatred, lies and voter deception” during the election campaign.

The petition asks not only for the video to be taken down, but also for a broader ruling that would signal to the rest of the campaign that there is no place for “lies, deception and manipulation,” even when a party is under political pressure.

Smotrich rejected the petition as “a ridiculous attempt to silence,” saying Eizenkot was “scared” by a video that, in his words, exposes the truth about a future left-wing government he says Eizenkot would form with Mansour Abbas and Yair Golan. Smotrich said such a government would evacuate settlements and farms, dismantle the security buffer built in Judea and Samaria, and shut the Alei Torah preparatory academy. He challenged Eizenkot to publicly promise not to form a government with Mansour Abbas and not to reverse those policies.