Leaders of the Arab Joint List and Israel’s Democrats party agreed Tuesday to coordinate efforts to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government after their first meeting since last week’s Knesset elections.
Joint List Chairman Yousef Jabareen and parliamentary group leader Ahmad Tibi met Democrats leader Yair Golan to assess the political situation following the Oct. 27 election results and discuss coordination between their blocs, the Arab Joint List said in a statement.
According to preliminary results, Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while opposition parties secured 48 seats. Arab parties won 19 seats, with the Joint List securing 11 and Ra’am obtaining eight.
The two sides stressed their "shared interest in using the parliamentary majority to bring down the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir-Smotrich government and replace it," according to the statement.
Jabareen and Tibi also raised key issues facing Arab citizens of Israel and discussed steps aimed at advancing "practical and tangible solutions," the statement said.
Arabs make up around 20% of Israel’s population of more than 10 million.
The two sides agreed to continue communication and coordination ahead of upcoming political steps, strengthen parliamentary cooperation and advance what the statement described as an agenda based on "equality and peace."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to hold consultations Wednesday and Thursday with parties represented in the Knesset before deciding which lawmaker to task with forming the next government.
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, who heads the opposition Change bloc, could receive the largest number of recommendations if he secures the support of Arab lawmakers.
Golan is one of the leaders of the Change bloc.
Netanyahu, 76, has served five nonconsecutive terms as prime minister, making him Israel’s longest-serving premier.
He has led the current government since late 2022, heading a coalition widely described as the most far-right in Israel’s history.
Netanyahu is currently on trial on corruption charges, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which could carry prison sentences if he is convicted.
He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court under an arrest warrant issued in 2024 over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel's genocidal war there since October 2023 have killed more than 74,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
