Yair Golan Declares Netanyahu Defeated, Calls for Coalition with Arab Parties
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
Yair Golan declared Benjamin Netanyahu defeated in the recent Israeli elections, asserting that the "change bloc" has a parliamentary majority and the responsibility to form a government. He called for a coalition including Arab parties, rejecting the division between Jewish and Arab votes. As of Wednesday morning, neither bloc had reached the 61-seat threshold needed to form a government, with preliminary results showing the Netanyahu bloc at 56 seats and the change bloc at 48.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Yair Golan stated Netanyahu lost the election and a majority exists to form a new government.
- Golan called for a coalition with Arab parties, emphasizing equal value of all Israeli votes.
- He challenged the "Zionist majority" claim by pointing to non-Zionist Haredi parties in Netanyahu's bloc.
- Preliminary results show neither bloc has reached the 61 seats required for a majority.
- The Netanyahu bloc has 56 seats, the change bloc has 48, and Arab parties hold 16 seats.
Following the counting of approximately 60% of votes in the 26th Knesset elections, Yair Golan, chairman of 'The Democrats,' declared on Wednesday that "Netanyahu has lost." He asserted that numerically and parliamentarily, the situation favors a change in government, stating, "Netanyahu has lost. I know how to count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That's how Israeli democracy works. Period." Golan called for the formation of a coalition that includes Arab parties, emphasizing the equal value of every Israeli citizen's vote, regardless of ethnicity. He strongly criticized the de-legitimization of Arab citizens' votes, arguing that anyone attempting to erase them is succumbing to Netanyahu's narrative. Golan also challenged the right-wing's concept of a "Zionist majority," pointing out that Netanyahu's bloc includes 16 members from non-Zionist Haredi parties who, he claimed, promote draft evasion while Israeli soldiers fight and die. He suggested that if Netanyahu insists on counting only a "Zionist majority," he should first remove these Haredi MKs from his bloc. As of Wednesday morning, with about 60% of votes tallied, neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the "change bloc" had secured the 61 seats needed for a majority. The Netanyahu bloc stood at 56 seats, the change bloc at 48, and two Arab parties together held 16 seats.
