Thousands Rally in Tel Aviv Demanding a Jewish-Arab Coalition Government to Oust Netanyahu

Thousands of people have demonstrated in Tel Aviv calling on Israel's opposition parties to reach an understanding with Arab parties in order to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power. The rally was held on Saturday (October 31) at Habima Square in Tel Aviv.

Protesters taking part in the demonstration told the AFP news agency that this may be 'the last chance for real change' in the country. In their words, long-serving Prime Minister Netanyahu is 'a very shrewd politician'.

A political deadlock has emerged in the country after no side won an outright majority in the parliamentary election held last Tuesday (October 27). In the election, Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot's bloc won 48 seats. In the 120-seat parliament, neither side could secure the majority needed to form a government on its own.

Meanwhile, Israel's three Arab-led parties performed remarkably well in the election, winning a total of 19 seats. According to the Central Election Committee, around 840,000 people voted for the Arab parties' alliance — 64 percent more than in the 2022 election.

Chief opposition leader and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot had earlier explicitly ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition with the Arab parties. But the arithmetic shows that if his party allies with the Arab parties, it could easily secure a comfortable majority of 67 seats. However, joining hands with Arabs is considered highly controversial and unacceptable to a section of Israel's political establishment.

Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh said: 'People really want this vote for change to succeed, and they believe that Gadi Eisenkot and other Jewish-Israeli leaders should listen to the voice of this public opinion.'

Meanwhile, Netanyahu's supporters also turned up with a counter-demonstration during Saturday's protest. They chanted slogans demanding that 'Israel should not have any government backed by so-called terrorists'.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has accused the Palestinian-Israeli parties of 'rigging' the election and taking funding from Qatar. Qatar has completely rejected the allegation, calling it propaganda.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh also reported that Israel's far-right circles are describing this historic turnout by Palestinian Israelis as 'electoral terrorism' and comparing it to the October 7 attack. In her assessment, the votes and voices of Palestinian Israelis are now under attack, because whether Eisenkot can form a government depends on them.