As Israel stares at a political deadlock after the October 27 elections, with both incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and his rival Gadi Eisenkot failing to reach a majority, the leader of the largest Arab-majority party in the Knesset called on the opposition to oust the Netanyahu government.
Netanyahu calls for ‘broad national government’
Given the current parliamentary arithmetic, Netanyahu’s government… cannot be replaced without coordination with the Joint List. “From the very first day, our hand has been extended to form a broad national government. A clear majority in the Jewish public chose the Likud as the largest party and me, as prime minister, to lead the next government,” he added. His remarks come as opposition parties continue efforts to form an alternative government.
Yousef Jabareen, the head of the Joint List, said he was ready to join forces with Eisenkot’s opposition bloc to oust Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition to seize control of the 120-seat Knesset. Jabareen’s party won 11 seats in the recent elections. With the Knesset scheduled to be sworn in on November 10, Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday said he was open to forming a broad national government but ruled out an administration dependent on Arab-led parties amid the Knesset deadlock.
The Arab-Israeli leader told AFP that reluctant opposition parties “must deal with the political reality and the numbers in the Knesset. On the other hand, Arab parties have hinted at a coalition with Eisenkot’s bloc, although Jabareen’s Joint List said it could not be part of a government as long as the occupation of the West Bank continued, and favoured outside support instead to keep Netanyahu out of power. He also claimed that he had received a mandate from the public to lead the new government In a post on X, Netanyahu said the public in Israel did not want a government relying on Ra’am and the Joint List, which he accused of supporting terrorism and rejecting the existence of the Jewish state. All the party leaders in Eisenkot’s bloc have said they will back him to form the next government, and Arab parties have also hinted at endorsing Eisenkot.
The party heads are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the bloc’s next steps.
