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Top Arab-Israeli Leader Tells AFP Opposition Must Join to Oust Netanyahu
Arab leaders say they can back a new coalition only if it removes two far-right ministers and reverses policies they blame for discrimination.
On Monday, Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Arab-led Joint List, told AFP it is time for opposition members to accept "political reality" and join forces to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last week's inconclusive election left the pro-Netanyahu bloc with 53 seats and the opposition with 48, both well short of the 61-seat majority required to govern without Arab-led parties.
Opposition camp leader Gadi Eisenkot has expressed misgivings about including Arab parties, while Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beiteinu has publicly opposed such a partnership.
President Isaac Herzog will begin meeting party representatives this week to determine government formation, while Jabareen met with Raam leader Mansour Abbas on Monday and plans to meet The Democrats' Yair Golan on Tuesday.
Jabareen demands potential partners repudiate Netanyahu's "path of wars, destruction in Gaza and settler terrorism in the West Bank," framing his party's positions as rooted in human rights and international law.