Prime ministerial hopeful calls Arab minority ‘an integral part of the Israeli story’ as he seeks to form government

Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot condemned a “racist and aggressive campaign of delegitimisation” against the country’s Arab citizens, after the caretaker prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused Arab parties of electoral fraud without evidence.

Netanyahu has repeatedly targeted Arab parties and Palestinian citizens of Israel after his party received a disappointing electoral showing, accusing them of manipulating the election and being linked to Hamas. Israeli electoral authorities have rejected these claims as not being backed by evidence.