Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in a late-night statement that opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot is aware he cannot form a government without relying on Yair Golan and Mansour Abbas to establish a Palestinian state — a scenario Netanyahu said must be prevented.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a pointed statement late Sunday night, claiming that opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot knows he cannot form a government without relying on Yair Golan and Mansour Abbas — whom Netanyahu described as committed to establishing a Palestinian state. The Prime Minister declared that such an outcome must be prevented.
On Saturday, August 22, at 20:19 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported a series of developments in this exchange. Netanyahu first clarified that no Palestinian state would be established in Judea and Samaria or Gaza (version 3). He then warned that an opposition-led coalition including Arab parties would compel support for a Palestinian state (version 4). Eisenkot responded later that evening, stating that no Palestinian state would be established under the government he would lead, according to Israel Today (version 5). The sequence shows a rapid escalation of rhetoric between the two leading candidates ahead of the elections.
The Zioneer has previously documented Netanyahu's firm opposition to Palestinian statehood. On June 28, he ruled out a Palestinian state as a foundational principle of his future coalition. On August 5, he reiterated that no Palestinian state would be established under Fatah or Hamas. Eisenkot, meanwhile, has positioned himself as the only alternative for a Zionist conscription government, as reported on July 7, and has previously accused Netanyahu of inventing reality on the Iranian nuclear threat (July 1).
It remains unclear whether Eisenkot will directly respond to Netanyahu's latest claim. The viability of any coalition involving Golan and Abbas, and their positions on Palestinian statehood, have not been detailed by the parties.
5 developments
Source and signal
- Open-source intake