Former Blue and White MK Gadi Eisenkot hinted at the possibility of forming a 58-MK minority government during an interview with N12 on Saturday, with many taking this as an announcement that a future government could have the support of the Arab parties.
“We will know how to form a government, even with 58 seats,” said Eisenkot during his interview with Amit Segal, which sparked a series of attacks and reactions from several politicians from both the government and the opposition.
One of the first ones to respond to Eisenkot was his former partner and chairman of the Blue and White Party, Benny Gantz, who said, “My friend Gadi, we've already tried to create a minority government. It wasn't realistic then, and it's even more unrealistic now, after October 7.”
“What Israel needs, as you said, is a broad Zionist government of 70 Knesset members, and not a transitional government that relies on the Arab parties, and will only strengthen [Itamar] Ben-Gvir with 20 seats,” he added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a response to Eisenkot, which was also the official response from the Likud party. “The opposition once again teams up with the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Netanyahu’s statement.
“Eizenkot revealed this evening the opposition's true plan, relying on the Muslim Brotherhood and anti-Zionist Arab parties to form the next government. Whether they will be members of the government or support it from the outside, such a government will once again be dependent on the Muslim Brotherhood,” he declared.
“The opposition is repeating the same dangerous pattern—an alliance with political forces that seek to undermine the foundations of the State of Israel. It seems that the opposition has not internalized the lessons of October 7,” the statement concluded.
Eisenkot’s response to Netanyahu
Eisenkot also issued a statement to address Netanyahu’s comments, accusing the Prime Minister of, among other things, negotiating with the Arab parties to “pass the draft bill.”
“I didn’t support two states for two peoples, you did; I didn’t preferred Hamas rule in Gaza for years, you did; I didn’t sent politicians to recruit Arab MKs to pass the draft exemption law that harms Israel's security, you did; I didn’t courted Arab parties in the fourth round of elections to which you dragged the country, you did; I didn’t blindly led Israel to the severe rift that brought the terrible failure since the establishment of the state, you did; and Im not fleeing from the fear of judgment and truth, you are!”
Eisenkot explained how he has a “clear plan that will ensure Israel's future as Jewish and democratic, safe and prosperous,” which will “replace the bad government that brought the sequence of disasters upon the people of Israel, with a distinctly Zionist majority and restore hope and Israeli pride.”
“The only alliance that the next government will care for is the alliance of the country's lovers, its servants, the true patriots. It's clear why this is so dangerous to you. We'll straighten this out, too,” he concluded.