19 seats, and still left out? Sakhnin mayor comes out against Eisenkot

Sakhnin Mayor Mazen Ghanaim attacked Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot over his party's opposition to including Arab parties in forming the government, despite their achievement of 19 seats in the elections. In an interview with 103FM, Ghanaim said: "It hurts my heart" to hear Yashar MKs say they won't sit with Arabs.

Sakhnin Mayor Mazen Ghanaim attacked Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot over his party's opposition to cooperating with Arab parties in forming the government. In an interview with 103FM, Ghanaim said that the Arab parties achieved 19 seats in the 2026 elections but are not receiving political recognition. "When I hear 4 MKs from Eisenkot's party, whom we counted on, saying 'we won't sit with Arabs,' then as a citizen of the State of Israel, it hurts my heart," he said. Ghanaim noted the behavior of the Arab public after October 7 and called for recognizing Arab citizens as a legitimate part of any government. He also attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, claiming they harmed the state. Ghanaim rejected accusations that Arab parties were responsible for the collapse of the Bennett-Lapid government and pointed a finger at former coalition members.