Call on Israeli Opposition to Form Government with Arab Parties: Haaretz Editorial
Influential Israeli newspaper Haaretz has called on opposition parties to coordinate with Arab parties to form a government. The appeal came in an editorial published on Thursday, October 29, amid uncertainty over government formation following Tuesday’s election and internal divisions within the opposition camp.
The editorial said parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had an opportunity to form a government, but might need the support of Arab parties to do so. It stressed the need to reconsider the policy of excluding Arab parties from the political process and explore the possibility of working with them.
The preliminary election results have made the combined strength of the opposition and Arab parties crucial to government formation talks. A majority of 61 seats is required to form a government in Israel’s 120-member Knesset. According to Haaretz’s calculations, the opposition camp holds around 48 seats, while Arab parties have 19.
Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Democrats Party, has backed forming a government through a partnership with Arab parties. He argued that the votes of Arab citizens are equal in value to those of other citizens and that their political representation should not be ignored.
However, several opposition leaders have opposed including Arab parties in the government. Uncertainty therefore remains over whether the opposition can reach a consensus on keeping Netanyahu out of power.
The composition of Israel’s next government remains uncertain until the official vote count and government formation negotiations are completed.
Source: Haaretz
