File photo: Israel opposition faces coalition hurdle as Arab Joint List offers support from outside
Speaking to Channel 12, Tibi urged opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to follow the example of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who relied on the support of Arab lawmakers to secure parliamentary backing for the Oslo Accords. The opposition tally includes 48 seats held by Zionist parties and 19 won by Arab factions — the Joint List with 11 and Ra’am with eight. Jabareen said the Joint List had condemned the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in communities near the Gaza border, but declined to give a direct answer when asked whether he considered Hamas a terrorist group. 2 on the Joint List’.
The Arab Joint List is willing to support an opposition-led government to replace Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s outgoing coalition, but will not join the cabinet, senior party leader Ahmad Tibi has said, as Israel’s political leaders grapple with the challenge of forming a government after an inconclusive election. “We want to help anyone who wants to bring down this awful government,” Tibi said, while making clear that the Joint List did not seek ministerial positions or cabinet berths. “Without the Arab parties there won’t be change,” he said, pointing to the election results, which left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats and his opponents with 67 in the 120-member Knesset. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said initial, informal contacts had begun with most leaders in the anti-Netanyahu camp, including Eisenkot, Democrats leader Yair Golan and members of Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party. Speaking at a memorial ceremony for Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, Herzog said the results were an established fact and called on political leaders to “stop climbing up trees and face reality”. Eisenkot has said he intends to use the opposition’s parliamentary majority to establish what he described as a “Zionist and statesmanlike government”. Earlier reporting noted: According to a Times of Israel report, the Joint List is willing to back anti-Netanyahu parties from outside, even though it is doesn’t want to actually be part of the government. Earlier reporting noted: Meanwhile, Jafar Farah, a key figure in the Arab political movement, told The Telegraph that both Ra’am and Joint List are expected to inform Israeli president Isaac Herzog of their willingness to back the Opposition bloc led by Eisenkot. They will recommend Gadi Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff, as the next prime minister, Farah said. “Maybe the three seats of [the nationalist Arab party] Balad will refuse, but the others will probably recommend,” Farah was quoted as saying.
However, several Jewish-led opposition parties have ruled out forming a coalition with the Arab factions, complicating efforts to assemble a parliamentary majority. Jabareen also faced questions over his refusal to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation, a position that could complicate cooperation with Eisenkot, who has made such a declaration one of his stated requirements for potential coalition partners. Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog has urged party leaders to accept the election results and find a way to avoid another election. The willingness of the Arab factions to recommend and support an opposition candidate could strengthen that effort, but the refusal of several Zionist parties to sit in a coalition with them remains a significant obstacle. “We want to help anyone who wants to bring down this awful government… and switch it for a different government. We want to be part of the correction, part of the hope,” veteran Arab MK Ahmad Tibi was quoted as saying. The publication identified him as ‘No.
Earlier reporting noted: Also Read: All eyes are on Israel President Herzog as Netanyahu, Eisenkot fall short of majority