(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = The Joint List, an Israeli Arab political party, has formalized its intention to provide 'external support' to the anti-Netanyahu opposition camp, which failed to secure a majority of seats in the recent general election.
As the general election ended without a clear winner, Arab political parties decided to side with the opposition, leading to speculation that the negotiations for forming the next coalition government may tilt toward regime change.
In an interview with the British daily Guardian on the 2nd (local time), Joint List leader Youssef Jabarin described the current moment as a historic moment and expressed hope that the opposition party would become a partner in changing the country's leadership.
He made it clear that he would not participate in the coalition, saying, "The conditions mentioned (by Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot) are suitable for parties that will participate directly in the coalition, but they cannot be part of the new government as long as the occupation of the West Bank continues."
Instead, Representative Jabarin said, "We will consider the possibility of supporting the new government from outside in order to use our political influence to oust the extreme Netanyahu government," and expressed his intention to provide indirect support through a vote of confidence within the National Assembly.
“This is a significant opportunity to change Israel’s policies and perceptions toward the Arab community and the Palestinian people,” he emphasized.
He emphasized the necessity of a regime change, saying that the Arab community in Israel has suffered greatly under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government for the past four years.
Representative Jabarin recalled, "It was a terrible four years, including the demolition of houses, the proliferation of criminal organizations within the Arab community while police were neglected, budget cuts, physical attacks, and excessive repression."
He then pointed out that there is an urgent need to replace the Knesset (Parliament) speaker, and that abolishing the controversial judiciary reorganization bill passed under Netanyahu should be the new government's top priority.
Representative Jabarin said, “If the opposition talks about change, that change must be applied equally to our society, which has suffered from structural discrimination for years,” and urged, “We demand a political vision of stopping the war in Gaza and resuming negotiations with the Palestinian leadership.”
In the general election held on the 27th of last month, of the 120 Knesset seats, the right-wing camp led by Prime Minister Netanyahu secured 53 seats, and the anti-Netanyahu camp secured 48 seats, so both sides fell short of the majority (61 seats), which is the minimum requirement for forming a coalition.
In this situation, the Arab political parties, who won a total of 19 seats (11 Joint List seats, 8 Ra'am seats), held the decisive key to the political situation.
If the Joint List, which has secured 11 seats, externally supports the anti-Netanyahu bloc with 48 seats, the opposition's power will increase to 59 seats, surpassing the pro-Netanyahu bloc (53 seats).
In addition, thanks to the actions of Ra'am (8 seats), another Arab party, it is possible to achieve a majority, blocking the formation of Prime Minister Netanyahu's coalition government and giving the opposition party real momentum to lead the government.
Meanwhile, within the anti-Netanyahu camp, coordination of differences with an eye toward cooperation with Arab political parties is in full swing.
According to Israel's Channel 12 broadcast, Avigdor Liberman, head of the Israel Beitenu party, which belongs to the anti-Netanyahu camp, is scheduled to meet with Yair Golan, head of the Democratic Party, on this day.
Representative Golan has argued that two Arab parties must be included in the future coalition, but Representative Liberman has maintained that such a composition can never be accepted.
