Likud releases AI video accusing Eisenkot of needing Arab support - mezha.net

On the evening of June 8, 2026, the Israeli Likud party utilized an AI-generated video as part of its political campaign strategy. The short clip, posted to the party's official X account, was designed to frame Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and current prime ministerial candidate, as reliant on Arab political support.

What happened

The 11-second video featured synthetic imagery of Gadi Eisenkot and Ahmad Tibi, an influential Arab member of parliament, standing together in front of the Knesset with dark clouds in the background. The clip concluded with the explicit text, "Eisenkot does not have a government without the Arabs," accompanied by the slogan, "There is no Tibi without Gadi Eisenkot."

This incident marked a shift in Likud's campaign tactics, signaling that the party now views Eisenkot as the primary political threat to Benjamin Netanyahu. By using artificial intelligence to manufacture a scene of the two politicians together, the campaign aimed to leverage traditional anti-Arab rhetoric to sway voters ahead of the Knesset elections scheduled for October. According to a Netanyahu adviser, the party has produced approximately 400 additional videos targeting Eisenkot that are slated for future release. The use of this AI content highlights the intensifying nature of the pre-election period, as Likud seeks to counter the rising momentum of Eisenkot’s Yashar party, which recent polls indicate is performing strongly against both Netanyahu and the Bennett-Lapid coalition.