Netanyahu ally held secret talks with Abbas during campaign

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu runs a sharp campaign against the possibility of a government relying on the Arab parties, Channel 12's main evening newscast revealed Monday night that one of his closest associates, Natan Eshel, worked behind the scenes with Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas in an attempt to prevent him from helping a government led by Gadi Eisenkot.

Eshel, formerly chief of staff at the Prime Minister's Residence in Balfour and one of the key figures in Netanyahu's inner circle, reached out to Abbas repeatedly, before the election, on election day itself, and after the results were published, trying to determine whether Ra'am would provide a safety net for a government headed by Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar! party, and to persuade him not to do so.

The investigation into the affair shows that Eshel did not settle for a single feeler, but maintained an ongoing channel of contact. In one of the first approaches before the election, Eshel asked Abbas whether he would allow Eisenkot to pass the draft law in the Knesset. Abbas replied at the time: "We will wait for the election results and decide accordingly."

When the results were published, Eshel reached out again with a direct question: "Will you help Eisenkot?" At that stage, Ra'am chose not to respond. Even after Netanyahu began publicly attacking the change bloc over its intention to rely on the Arab factions, Eshel returned and contacted Abbas: "Will you help Eisenkot in the Knesset, even though he does not want you in the coalition?"

This is not a random channel: Eshel is the one who opened the direct political communication line between Netanyahu and Abbas in 2019, a channel that later became significant and was also used at the official residence in Balfour. Now, Ra'am is choosing not to answer Eshel's approaches, but is also refraining from closing the door completely.

The gap between public statements and private conversations

The revelation sharpens the stark contrast with the messages being broadcast to the public. On Monday, in a filmed statement in which he called for the formation of a unity government under his leadership, Netanyahu sharply attacked the possibility of cooperation with the Arab factions.

"You cannot form a government with Hamas supporters, with a government that depends on Hamas supporters," Netanyahu said. "You cannot fight Iran and its other proxies, radical Islam, if you have supporters of radical Islam that you depend on inside the government."

Initially, Eshel claimed that he had cut off contact with Abbas, does not trust him, and views him as a dangerous element for the State of Israel. However, after the documentation and explicit approaches were presented to him, he said: "No messages were conveyed. I asked a few Arabs 'if they have a drop of self-respect, and if they will support someone who does not want them in the coalition and is only exploiting them.' And he answered me, like many others: 'We will do what is good for us.'"

The Likud party did not deny the content of the matter and said: "Prime Minister Netanyahu was surprised to hear about these exchanges, and they were not done with his knowledge."

The revelation comes against the background of contacts being held in recent days between the change bloc and the chareidi parties to form a government. As reported, Eisenkot and Liberman agreed Monday that the next Knesset speaker will be from the Yashar! party.