Barak Seri Accuses Netanyahu of Exploiting Late Gal Eizenkot's Image in Controversial Video

Barak Seri publicly accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using a video that evokes the memory of the late Gal Eizenkot, son of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, who was killed in combat in northern Gaza. The video, circulated on Netanyahu's social media accounts, shows a young man wearing a white shirt with the slogan "Israeli Unity" running smiling towards Gadi Eizenkot, who ignores him and instead embraces Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Ra'am party. A voiceover states, "Eizenkot cannot form a government without Yair Golan and the Arab parties," while the young man is left behind looking disappointed.

Seri said the imagery immediately and disturbingly reminded him of Gal Eizenkot, a 25-year-old reserve soldier who died during the war, and that this association sparked harsh criticism online. He linked the video to the Likud's campaign against Gadi Eizenkot, which centers on the claim that Eizenkot cannot establish a government without Arab parties. Following Eizenkot's rising popularity in polls, he has become a primary target of Netanyahu's campaign.

Seri also highlighted that Eizenkot is a bereaved father who lost two nephews in the war, arguing that using a figure reminiscent of his fallen son marks a further decline in the election campaign's tone. The Likud party has not responded to Seri's allegations that the video intentionally evokes Gal Eizenkot's image.