The leader of the opposition party The Democrats, Yair Golan, defended this Wednesday the need to reach an agreement with the Arab-Israeli parties to form a new Executive and remove the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, from office, given the scenario of parliamentary deadlock that exists if these parties are not counted on.
"Netanyahu has lost. I can count to 120. 65 is more than 55. That is how Israeli democracy works. Period," the left-wing politician said in a message on social media, alluding to the total number of seats in the Knesset and the support the opposition could count on if it incorporates the Arab parties, against the bloc of the current head of Government.
"The reality of the situation must leave us a blunt lesson: we have no future here unless we stop being afraid and put an end to racism. We must no longer accept Netanyahu's racist distinction between Jewish votes and Arab votes," the leader of The Democrats maintained, insisting that all votes "are worth exactly the same."
Along these lines, he stressed that "anyone who tries to nullify the votes of Arab citizens is surrendering to Netanyahu and renouncing Israel" and underscored that the bloc supporting the prime minister includes ultra-Orthodox "non-Zionist" parties that "promote mass evasion of military service."
"If Netanyahu insists on counting only a 'Zionist majority,' he should start by subtracting from his own bloc those 16 lawmakers from the non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox parties," Golan pointed out, stressing that the Israeli leader "is not in a position to give lessons on Zionism."
Likewise, he reiterated that "the 'Change Bloc' has a Zionist majority: 49 to 39. The 'Change Bloc' has an Israeli majority: 65 to 55," before emphasizing that this opposition group has "a responsibility" and "the opportunity to form a change Government, in collaboration with the Arab citizens of Israel."
In this sense, he proposed the creation of an Executive "that serves all the citizens of Israel" and called for acting with "courage" to materialize it. "Now courage is needed. Leadership is needed. It is time to stop being afraid and start acting. A change Government, now!", he concluded.
With 72.4% of the count in Tuesday's legislative elections, Netanyahu's Likud is in the lead with 27 seats, although its bloc would only total 54 seats, compared with the 48 of the front headed by former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. In turn, the two Arab parties win 18 deputies – twelve from the Joint List and six from Raam – becoming determining actors for the shaping of the next Government.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has argued that the conservative bloc has a "decisive majority" and has opted for a "national right-wing" Executive. In addition, he has rejected any coalition with the Arab formations, which he has called "antisemitic" and "enemies of the State," accusing them of seeing the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamás) as a "force of salvation".