Eisenkot denies claim he promised Bedouin leaders he’d bring Ra’am into government

Election frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot on Wednesday denied a report claiming he promised Bedouin leaders that he would bring Mansour Abbas’s largely Arab Ra’am party into the coalition he hopes to form following next month’s election.

Channel 12 news said two local authority heads who attended the event confirmed that the former IDF chief of staff, who leads the centrist opposition Yashar party, made the pledge.

Tuba-Zangariyye council head Mueid al-Heib, who attended the meeting, told Radio Nas that Eisenkot said he would not govern with the far-right’s Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich or Otzma Yehudit chair Itamar Ben Gvir, but that contacts were underway with Ra’am and he would work to bring the party into his government.

Eisenkot and Yashar vehemently denied the claims on Wednesday, calling them “a complete lie” and insisting the remarks “were never made, not even by implication.”

Yashar published recordings of Tuesday’s meeting with the local authority heads, saying the composition of a future government was never discussed.

The party reiterated its position that potential coalition partners must meet “the three fundamental principles that are well known to the public,” including recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, acceptance of the values of the Declaration of Independence, and the institution of universal military or civil national service, as well as recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

פרסום ראשון: גדי איזנקוט הבטיח במהלך פגישה שקיים אמש עם פורום ראשי הרשויות הבדואיות בצפון לצרף את רע״מ לממשלה הבאה בראשותו. שני ראשי רשויות שהשתתפו בפגישה אישרו את הדברים pic.twitter.com/I9VUW8MxMM

— מוחמד מג'אדלה محمد مجادلة (@mmagadli) September 16, 2026

“We have nothing to hide,” Eisenkot wrote on X, tagging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he posted a video of the meeting. “Take an example. This is how it’s done.”

Then, taking a shot at Netanyahu, he added, “What about the full [war] protocols? We’re waiting.”

The jab alluded to demands for the release of records relating to Netanyahu’s conduct surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre, as well as his opposition to the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, Israel’s highest investigatory authority, into the failures surrounding the attack.

The dispute came as the four parties presumed to comprise the anti-Netanyahu bloc, led by Yashar, continue to collectively poll several seats short of a majority in the Knesset, fueling speculation that Ra’am could provide the additional support needed to form a government. The prospect has become a central line of attack by Netanyahu and his right-wing allies against Eisenkot, as they campaign against the inclusion of Arab parties in the next government.

Abbas has repeatedly stated that Netanyahu attempted to woo him to join a coalition years ago, but that he chose to instead partner with the bloc led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, who formed a government in 2021 that briefly unseated Netanyahu. Religious Zionism leader Smotrich has said he prevented Netanyahu from allying with Ra’am.

Only Yair Golan, the leader of the left-wing Democrats, has openly encouraged his fellow opposition leaders to partner with Ra’am again, and urged them to “stop playing along” with the demonization of the party.

Yashar’s number-two candidate, Yoram Cohen, recently floated partnering with Religious Zionism, which is part of Netanyahu’s government.

Bennett, aiming at top job, says he’ll respect bloc’s choice of PM

Bennett , meanwhile, told the Kan public broadcaster on Wednesday that he will respect the anti-Netanyahu bloc’s choice for prime minister after the election, even as he has explicitly hoped to return to the role following the October 27 vote.

Bennett partnered with Lapid’s Yesh Atid to form the B’Yachad party he leads. The party topped polls earlier in the year, but has since dropped to the third-largest party, behind Yashar and Netanyahu’s Likud.

“I am competing for prime minister because I think that our team, our platform, and yours truly are the only ones that know how to repair our country,” he said.

But he added, “The day after the election we, the heads of the bloc, will convene and come out with one candidate, and I will respect the result,” he added.

Additionally, Bennett ruled out a rotation agreement with Netanyahu for the role of premier after the election, in an interview on Wednesday at the Real Estate on the Ballot conference in Tel Aviv.

“We will not allow a rotation with Benjamin Netanyahu, full stop,” he said, criticizing Netanyahu for not taking responsibility for the failures surrounding the October 7 massacre.

Additionally, Yisrael Beytenu said party chief Avigdor Liberman met on Wednesday with Bennett, stating: “The two discussed the steps needed to achieve victory in the election and addressed various issues on the agenda.”

Liberman has also made clear his hope to be prime minister, but his party is polling in the middle of the pack, and surveys show Israelis do not prefer for him to lead the country.