Arab parties offer support to oust Netanyahu, but political hurdles remain

An Arab-led political alliance in Israel has signalled its willingness to support a government formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents, potentially breaking with decades of precedent to help end his long rule.

Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Joint List, told The Associated Press that the bloc was prepared to take steps it had avoided in the past to remove Netanyahu's government.

“We want to do things that we did not do in the past in order to remove this criminal government,” Tibi said.

However, any such arrangement could prove politically difficult for both sides. The Joint List would have to support a government that may continue Israel's wars and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's opponents would have to work with parties that reject Israel's identity as a Jewish state.

Following record turnout among Arab voters, Arab-led parties secured a significant presence in the Knesset. Tibi said the Joint List was prepared to support an anti-Netanyahu government without joining the administration, a position that could make cooperation more acceptable to Jewish-led opposition parties while giving the bloc considerable political influence.

Only one Arab party, Ra'am, has previously served in an Israeli government, in 2021. It is considered more conciliatory than the Joint List and has eight seats, compared with the latter's 11. Ra'am is willing to join another anti-Netanyahu government, but such an arrangement would still require the Joint List's support.

Tibi said that if Jewish-led opposition parties rejected cooperation, it would demonstrate that Israel was “an ethnocracy, not an absolute democracy for all citizens”.

Joint List's positions pose challenge

Palestinians who remained in what became Israel after the 1948 war surrounding its creation were granted citizenship and the right to vote. They and their descendants now account for around 20 per cent of the country's population.

Arab-led political parties have historically faced suspicion among many Jewish Israelis, reinforced by statements from some lawmakers defending or praising Israel's adversaries.

The Joint List, a coalition of three left-wing and nationalist parties, rejects what it calls the “racist Zionist consensus”. It advocates cooperation with Jewish Israelis who support a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. The bloc also rejects Israel's identity as a Jewish state and calls for equal rights for all citizens.

Many Jewish Israelis view these positions as support for Israel's enemies, particularly during wartime. Netanyahu has sought to reinforce such perceptions, making unproven allegations of electoral fraud against Arab-led parties and portraying them as a national security threat.

A dilemma for Netanyahu's opponents

The positions of the Arab-led parties have created a dilemma for Netanyahu's main opponents, led by former general Gadi Eisenkot.

During the campaign, the opposition portrayed Netanyahu as a corrupt leader who had failed to prevent the 7 October 2023 attack and subsequently blocked a public inquiry into it. It also argued that his far-right government posed a threat to Israel's democratic institutions.

The opposition secured 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset, against 53 for Netanyahu's coalition. The Joint List won 11 seats and Ra'am eight, making their support potentially decisive in efforts to form an alternative government.

The Joint List could help an anti-Netanyahu bloc take power either by voting in its favour or abstaining, thereby lowering the threshold needed to secure a majority. Both options could allow opposition parties to form a government without bringing the Joint List into the administration.

Joining the government could put the bloc's lawmakers in the position of supporting an administration overseeing wars in Gaza and Lebanon that they oppose.

While some of Eisenkot's allies have welcomed the prospect of Arab support, others have objected, citing past statements by Joint List leaders that they say undermine Israel's legitimacy or support its adversaries.

Tibi acknowledged that an alliance would neither end the wars nor necessarily lead to the creation of a Palestinian state. However, he argued that a government replacing Netanyahu could improve the lives of Palestinian citizens, including by addressing violent crime in Arab communities.

Conditions for cooperation remain unclear

Eisenkot has said Arab-led parties would have to meet certain conditions to enter a partnership, including describing Hamas as a terrorist organisation that must be destroyed.

Tibi said those conditions did not apply to parties such as the Joint List that were offering support from outside the government.

Both the Joint List and Ra'am have condemned Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack and violence against civilians. However, they have refused to label Hamas a terrorist organisation or call for its destruction, arguing that such a position would justify Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza.

Tibi described both the Hamas attack and Israel's response as immoral.

The veteran lawmaker has long been a target of right-wing attacks on Arab political parties. During the 2019 election campaign, Netanyahu used the slogan “Bibi or Tibi?” to warn voters that opposing him would mean relying on Arab-led parties to form a government.