🇮🇱 ISRAEL EXPELS DUTCH REPRESENTATIVES FROM GAZA AID COORDINATION CENTER: Israel is expelling Dutch representatives from the Gaza aid coordination center in Kiryat Gat and has given them one week to leave the country. The move follows a series of Dutch measures that Israel considers “anti-Israel.”
🔸 NETANYAHU PRESSURES SMALL RIGHT-WING PARTIES AS GAFNI SIGNALS EISENKOT: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of former general Ofer Winter: “I have no personal problem with him, but a national concern. If he crosses the electoral threshold, he will knock other parties out.” Netanyahu called on Winter, Avi Maoz and Moshe Feiglin to either merge with existing parties or withdraw.
UTJ’s Moshe Gafni meanwhile said: “The Likud did not take care of our children. We will have to make a decision for generations to come about whether to take care of them (and go with the left).” Gafni has sought to make clear that he intends to recommend Gadi Eisenkot. It remains unclear whether this is an election-eve maneuver.
🗳️ LIKUD ORDERS ANOTHER BE’ER YA’AKOV RECOUNT: Likud said its Election Committee, headed by retired Judge Menachem Ne’eman, has ordered another recount of ballot boxes in Be’er Ya’akov. The results will be incorporated into the final results following appeals this Thursday. Likud said it is committed to ensuring the integrity of the election process and complying with the directives of the Likud Tribunal and Election Committee.
🇮🇱 MANSOUR ABBAS: JEWISH CHARACTER OF STATE “IMPOSED UPON US”: Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas clarified his positions on Israel’s Jewish character and the Palestinian “Nakba” in an Arabic-language post Wednesday morning following criticism over comments he made on Meet the Press. Abbas rejected claims that he denies the Nakba, Palestinian displacement or the Palestinian historical narrative. He said that although his political language and approach have changed as he has pursued greater Arab participation and influence in Israeli politics, this does not mean he has abandoned those positions.
Abbas argued that a different political approach could address what he described as historical injustices, prevent future displacement and build a practical vision for the future. On Israel’s identity, he said: “The Jewish character of the state is an existing reality that was imposed upon us and was not something we chose. It is the choice of the Jewish majority, not a demand of ours.” He added that Arab parties have been compelled to accept this reality in practical terms because otherwise they could potentially be disqualified from participating in Knesset and local elections.
Abbas said his priorities are strengthening the status and national and civil rights of Arab citizens, participating in government rather than remaining solely in opposition, advancing the interests of the Arab community and preventing harm to it. He also reiterated support for Palestinian self-determination and a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded by calling Abbas “a dangerous enemy, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Netanyahu meanwhile reiterated his campaign argument that Eisenkot would be unable to form a government without Yair Golan and the Arab parties.
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Gadi Eizenkot, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Tzipi Livni, Ehud Barak, Rahm Emmanuel etc., have zero chance.
MAGA/FJB