'Accept political reality': Top Arab-Israeli leader urges opposition to seize 'historic opportunity' to oust Netanyahu

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.

Yousef Jabareen, leader of Israel's Arab-led Joint List political alliance. (AFP)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. The Arab-Israeli leader told AFP that reluctant opposition parties “must deal with the political reality and the numbers in the Knesset. Given the current parliamentary arithmetic, Netanyahu's government...

cannot be replaced without coordination with the Joint List.” ALSO READ | India, Israel vote against UNGA draft on regional conventional arms control Jabareen's remarks came after Netanyahu's coalition lost its majority in the Israeli parliament, managing to win 53 seats.

The 'Change' bloc, led by a coalition of parties led by retired Israel defence forces (IDF) general Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats, leaving Arab-Israeli parties such as the Joint List and Ra'am as kingmakers with 19 seats. 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.

ALSO READ | Iran warns US, Israel of 'immediate' retaliation if attacks resume "This is an opportunity to change policies, to change attitudes, including towards the Arab community and towards the Palestinian people. This is really a historic moment, and I hope that there will be partners within the opposition to go ahead with that.

We are thinking that this could be the start of a change," he told The Guardian. Jabareen also said the Arab community had suffered from systemic discrimination in Israel for years and expressed hope for an end to the ongoing Iran war and renewed negotiations with the Palestinian leadership if Israel sees a change in leadership.

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.

He also claimed that he had received a mandate from the public to lead the new government ALSO READ | How Israel elects its prime minister without voters choosing a candidate 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.

"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. 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. Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times.

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