TEL AVIV (The Thursday Times) — Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and northern Israel on Saturday to urge the opposition to form a government with Arab parties and oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as his supporters staged counter-protests accusing the Arab parties of backing Hamas.
Crowds gathered in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square with signs reading “Arabs and Jews will only win together” and “There is a majority for change”. In Jerusalem, placards read “67 — United we stand, divided we get Bibi” and “Why not, really — unless we are racist?” “It’s the last chance for real change,” said Ayelet Raz, a 60-year-old psychologist at the Tel Aviv rally. “We need to give peace a chance. Otherwise we’ll have this bloodshed forever.”
Tuesday’s election left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Jewish-majority parties opposed to Netanyahu won 48 seats, and the two Arab-majority parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, a record 19. Together they would command 67 seats, but some opposition parties reject any arrangement that relies on Arab votes.
Eisenkot’s dilemma
Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief, said on Saturday he would only form a “Zionist government” whose members recognise Israel as a “Jewish, democratic and liberal state” and Hamas as a terrorist organisation, conditions Arab leaders have previously refused. He has said he does not want a government dependent on Arab parties but has not ruled out their support from outside.
Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas, whose party is the only Arab party ever to sit in an Israeli government, in a coalition that lasted from 2021 to 2022, has said he is willing to do so again. The Joint List’s Yousef Jabareen has said he would back Eisenkot in parliament without joining his government. Yair Golan of the left-wing Democrats has embraced the idea, but Avigdor Liberman of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu has ruled it out. “Whoever wants to rely on supporters of terrorism, let them. Yisrael Beiteinu will not be there,” he wrote.
More than 100 Netanyahu supporters held a counter-protest in Tel Aviv, chanting “It’s the Right, or Palestine”, a slogan from his campaign, while right-wing rallies elsewhere called for new elections. Netanyahu called cooperation with Arab parties “a disaster for Israel” and has accused Arab politicians of receiving support from Qatar, claims Doha has rejected.
President Isaac Herzog is expected by Thursday to give a party leader 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension.
