TEL AVIV, 29 Oct. - (ANA) - Israel's opposition has approached Arab parties to discuss cooperation on forming a new government, following an election in which high turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel denied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a parliamentary majority.

 

Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Arab Movement for Change and a member of the Knesset, revealed that opposition parties had contacted Arab political leaders to coordinate efforts to replace the current Knesset speaker and explore future cooperation.

 

Tibi said Arab parties were not seeking ministerial portfolios in the next government but intended to use their parliamentary strength to end Netanyahu's rule.

 

He credited the surge in Palestinian voter turnout with preventing Netanyahu from securing the majority needed to form a government, opening the door to an alternative that could end the far-right coalition's grip on power.

 

The Joint List would support an opposition-backed candidate to replace the Knesset speaker, Tibi said, while condemning politicians who refuse to cooperate with Arab parties.

 

"Whoever insists on not forming alliances with Arab parties will lose power," he said, describing attempts to portray Arab votes as illegitimate as racist.

 

 

 

 

According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Tibi confirmed that the Joint List was negotiating with the opposition's "change camp" to facilitate the formation of a new government without formally joining the coalition.

 

"I want to do everything I can in the Knesset to pave the way for the announcement of a government," he said. "We will probably not be an integral part of this government, but there are other arrangements and possibilities."

 

Sources familiar with the discussions said the Joint List had offered opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot a parliamentary "safety net", similar to the arrangement under which Arab lawmakers supported Yitzhak Rabin's government in 1992.

 

Such an arrangement could allow Arab parties to support a government from outside the coalition without accepting ministerial positions.

 

The sources said contacts with Eisenkot's camp had continued over recent days and remained ongoing.

 

Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen also called for a "genuine Jewish-Arab partnership" to remove Netanyahu from power.

 

"Anyone who wants to offer a substantive and genuine alternative to Netanyahu's blood-soaked government must engage in dialogue with us and pave the way for the change that the public in Israel is seeking," Jabareen told Israeli media.

 

 

 

 

The developments follow an election campaign in which Netanyahu repeatedly warned supporters about rising turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel.

 

On Tuesday, Netanyahu shared photographs and videos focusing on Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi and high turnout in Arab communities.

 

In one post on X, Netanyahu shared an image purportedly showing voters outside a polling station in Rahat, a predominantly Arab city in southern Israel.

 

"This is what is happening today in Rahat. You cannot stay at home; go out immediately and vote Likud. We are fighting for our homeland," he wrote.

 

Meanwhile, Democrats leader Yair Golan suggested that Arab parties should be included in opposition efforts to form a new government.

 

"Every member of the Knesset elected through the legal process is a legitimate part of our political system," Golan said.

 

However, Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman rejected cooperation with Arab parties, instead calling for a rebellion within Likud against Netanyahu.

 

Lieberman accused Netanyahu of destroying the nationalist camp, saying the prime minister had behaved "like the head of a criminal organisation".   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/29 October 2026 - - -