Yair Golan Urges Opposition to Unite with Arab Parties for Knesset Majority

Yaïr Golan, president of the Democrats party, called on Wednesday for opposition parties to ally with Arab political formations to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Golan asserted that such a coalition could secure a majority in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. "Netanyahu has lost. I can count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That's how Israeli democracy works. Period," he stated on X, referencing preliminary election results. As of the counting of 70.7% of votes, Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 54 seats, Gadi Eisenkot's bloc 47, and Arab parties 19 seats (13 for the Joint List and 6 for Ra'am). This would give the opposition and Arab parties a combined 66 seats, surpassing the 61 needed for a majority, though this does not signify a coalition agreement.

Golan further stated, "We have a majority. We have a responsibility. And we have the opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with the Arab citizens of Israel. A government that will serve all Israeli citizens." Yousef Jabareen, president of the Joint List, expressed his party's intention to leverage their political influence to advance their values and facilitate a government change. "The Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir government has made life bitter for every Arab citizen," Jabareen declared. "We will be ready to pave the way for the departure of the Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir, and Smotrich government and send them home."

Golan also challenged the distinction between an Israeli majority and a Zionist majority, arguing that if Netanyahu were to count only Zionist parties, he should exclude the deputies from ultra-Orthodox parties, whom Golan described as non-Zionist. However, Golan's proposal faces opposition from other opposition leaders who have previously ruled out forming a government with Arab parties. The election results remain provisional, pending the counting of double-envelope ballots.