Thousands Rally in Israel Urging Jewish-Arab Coalition to Oust Netanyahu
Written by AI from aljazeera.com's report. Not checked by a person.
Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday urging main opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government with Arab-led parties after Tuesday's elections produced a hung Knesset, with Netanyahu's bloc at 53 seats, Eisenkot's at 48, and Arab-led parties holding the balance with 19 seats.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling on opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to join forces with Arab-led parties to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power. Protesters told AFP the rally may represent the "last chance for real change," describing Netanyahu — Israel's longest-serving prime minister — as a "great manipulator."
Tuesday's elections left the Knesset deadlocked: Netanyahu's bloc secured 53 seats and Eisenkot's won 48, leaving neither side able to form a government in the 120-seat parliament alone. Eisenkot has previously ruled out a coalition with Israel's Arab parties, but the arithmetic of the result means their support could give him the numbers he needs. Arab-led parties captured 19 seats, with Ra'am and the Joint List — a coalition of three Arab-led parties — together drawing nearly 840,000 votes, a 64 percent increase over the 2022 elections, according to the Central Election Committee. A Jewish-Arab coalition would hand Eisenkot a working 67-seat majority.
Counter-protesters also turned out on Saturday, with Netanyahu supporters demanding that "Israel should not have a government with so-called terrorists." Netanyahu has accused Palestinian-Israeli parties of accepting Qatari funding to "steal" the polls; Qatar denied the allegations, calling the claim a disinformation campaign. Israeli right-wing circles have gone further, describing the high Arab turnout as "electoral terrorism" and equating it to the October 7 attack, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds captive.
