Hundreds of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday, the 31st, to pressure the opposition to ally with the Arab parties with the aim of removing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from power, who, in turn, intensified attacks against the leaders of that minority.
Israel’s Arab parties had a significant advance in the elections held last Tuesday, propelled by the hostile rhetoric of Netanyahu’s far-right government.
Nevertheless, the opposition leader, Gadi Eisenkot, has not yet decided whether he will accept an alliance with these blocs.
Ayelet Raz, a 60-year-old protester in Tel Aviv, argued that the Arab community, which represents about 20% of the Israeli population, has the right to participate in the government.
“This is the last opportunity to promote real change,” said the psychologist. “We need to give peace a chance. Otherwise, we will have this bloodshed forever,” she warned.
No bloc won a majority in the 120-seat Israeli Parliament in Tuesday’s elections.
The Jewish-majority parties opposed to Netanyahu won 48 seats, while the Arab-majority parties, Ra’am and United List, together won 19 seats.
An alliance between the two blocs would give them 67 seats, a comfortable majority for the prime minister’s opponents. However, some opposition parties reject any rapprochement with the Arabs.
“Arabs and Jews win together” and “There is a majority in favor of change,” read the banners displayed by about 500 protesters in Tel Aviv.
The Arab parties have participated in the government only once, when the Ra’am leader Mansur Abbas joined a short-lived coalition between 2021 and 2022. Abbas stated he was willing to repeat the experience.
Meanwhile, the head of the United List, Yusef Jabareen, told AFP that he would be willing to support Eisenkot in Parliament without joining the government.
But Eisenkot, a former military chief with a centrist profile who shares some of Netanyahu’s positions on security issues, declared that he would only accept forming a “Zionist government,” whose members commit to the “recognition of Israel as a Jewish, democratic and liberal state” and consider Hamas a “terrorist organization,” conditions that Arab leaders rejected in the past.
The opposition figure said he does not wish to depend on the Arab parties, but he also did not explicitly rule out their support.
“I want the opposition bloc to have the courage to do what is right,” said Sharon Balaban, a 55-year-old video producer in Jerusalem.
Parallel to the demonstration in Tel Aviv, more than 100 Netanyahu supporters held their own event. “The two Arab parties are from Hamas,” alleged Rebecca Schindler, 60. “They want to turn Israel into a Palestinian country.”
It is expected that Israel’s President Isaac Herzog will task Netanyahu or Eisenkot with attempting to form a new government on Thursday, the 5th.
If several attempts to form a government fail, Israel could have new elections at the beginning of next year. Herzog said this week that he would do everything in his power to avoid that scenario.
