Joint List Signals Readiness to Aid Anti-Netanyahu Bloc

Following the count of 77% of the votes, the Chairman of the Joint List, Professor Yosef Jabareen, announced his party's willingness to cooperate with the "change bloc" to oust the Netanyahu government. "We are ready and prepared to pave the way for the removal of the Netanyahu government," Jabareen stated, contrasting it with a "government of blood, of supremacy, racism, and exclusion," and offering a "completely different alternative." He emphasized that political change requires a genuine and egalitarian Jewish-Arab partnership. This declaration coincides with ongoing negotiations within the change bloc aimed at replacing the current Knesset Speaker, Amir Ohana. According to a report by Daphna Liel, despite election results that complicated the bloc's efforts, party leaders are seeking a consensus candidate for Speaker, to be elected when the new Knesset is sworn in. While no agreement has been reached, MKs Oded Forer and Elazar Stern are among the names considered. MK Ahmad Tibi has indicated his party's readiness to support the change bloc's candidate for Speaker, aiming to end Ohana's term. Such a move would require a majority of 61 Knesset members and could allow Netanyahu's opponents to influence the parliamentary agenda even without forming a new government. However, despite the Joint List's signal of cooperation, broad consensus on this move has not yet been formed among the parties.