Israeli Opposition Parties Agree to Work Together to Oust Netanyahu
Israel's Arab Joint List and the Democrats party have agreed to work jointly to bring down the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two parties held their first meeting on Tuesday (3 November) after the results of the Knesset election held on 27 October were published, and discussed taking coordinated steps in parliament to change the government.
In a statement, the Arab Joint List said its chairman Yousef Jabareen and parliamentary group leader Ahmad Tibi met Democrats leader Yair Golan. They reviewed the election results and discussed strengthening cooperation among the opposition parties.
According to the preliminary results, Netanyahu's coalition won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The opposition parties won 48 seats. The Arab parties hold 19 seats, of which 11 belong to the Joint List and eight to Ra'am.
The statement said the two sides agreed to use a parliamentary majority to remove the government led by Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and form an alternative government. They also discussed the various problems of Israel's Arab citizens and a political programme based on equality and peace.
No side won an outright majority in the 27 October election, creating political uncertainty over the formation of a new government in the country. In this situation, the opposition has intensified talks on forming a government.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will hold consultations on Wednesday and Thursday with the parties represented in the Knesset. He will then nominate a lawmaker to be tasked with forming the government.
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the opposition Change Bloc and head of the Yashar party, could receive the most recommendations to form a government if he wins the support of Arab lawmakers. Reports say the Arab political parties are moving towards a decision to support the opposition bloc and may also recommend Eisenkot as prime minister.
Netanyahu has been in power in Israel since late 2022. He is on trial on corruption charges. In addition, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him in 2024 over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Since October 2023, more than 74,500 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, most of them women and children.
