After Mansour Abbas called for an end to the occupation and a Palestinian state, Likud and its allies attacked Eisenkot, accusing him of backing statehood and a coalition with Arab parties.
Gadi Eisenkot, a leading opposition candidate, pledged that no Palestinian state would be established if his party wins October's Knesset election, after United Arab List Chairman Mansour Abbas called Saturday for an end to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Speaking at his party's General Conference in Tayibe, Abbas said a Palestinian state is already recognized by most countries around the world and called on Israel and the United States to recognize it as well.
Eisenkot, who heads the centrist Yashar party, responded on X, writing: "There is no Palestinian state, and under the government we establish, there will be no Palestinian state."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently attacked both Abbas and Eisenkot, saying that "the price of a left-wing coalition with the Muslim Brotherhood has once again been exposed."
"These are the partners of Eisenkot," the prime minister continued, "who boycott Likud voters but welcome supporters of [Arab party leader Ahmad] Tibi."
"As long as I am prime minister, there will be no Palestinian state controlled by Iran – not in Gaza and not in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu added.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also challenged Eisenkot over his response to Abbas, calling on him to clarify whether he supports construction in the West Bank's E1 area that Smotrich recently approved.
"It's very simple – whoever opposes construction wants to establish a Palestinian state and therefore demands the preservation of Arab territorial continuity from south to north," Smotrich said.
"Whoever supports construction in E1 wants to eliminate the idea of dividing the land, connect Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem and take the two-state solution off the agenda. What is your position, Gadi?"
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana joined the criticism, saying that at least two of Eisenkot's "natural partners" – the Democrats and the United Arab List – were working toward establishing what he called "an enemy state called Palestine."
Gilad Erdan, ex-Likud lawmaker and chairman of the new right-wing Unity party, also attacked Abbas. "The disguise has been removed. Abbas is Palestine and Palestine is Abbas," Erdan wrote on X, adding that anyone considering forming a government with the United Arab List "endangers Israel."
The exchange comes as Eisenkot has been preparing for the possibility of forming a minority government after the election if the anti-Netanyahu bloc falls short of a majority without the support of Arab parties.
Haaretz reported earlier this month that Eisenkot has said in private conversations that if the opposition wins 58 or 59 "Zionist" Knesset seats, rather than the 61 needed for a majority, he would still seek to form a government rather than allow Netanyahu to push the country toward another election.
"I won't ask anything from the Arab parties," Eisenkot said. "They can support it, abstain or be absent. That's their business. The main thing is to replace the government and remove the ministers from positions of power."
Eisenkot has argued that allowing Netanyahu to remain in office while another election is held would effectively allow him to turn an electoral defeat into a victory.