Arab parties extend a hand to try and topple Netanyahu, but challenges
remain
[November 05, 2026]
By SAM METZ
TAYIBE, Israel (AP) — A veteran Arab lawmaker in Israel says his bloc is
willing to break with decades of precedent and join forces with
Jewish-led parties in a shared bid to end Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu 's long rule.
“We want to do things that we did not do in the past in order to remove
this criminal government,” Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Arab Joint
List, told The Associated Press.
But any such partnership could be politically fraught for both sides.
For the Joint List, it would mean backing a government unlikely to end
Israel’s wars or curb settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
For Netanyahu’s opponents, it would mean aligning with parties that not
only criticize Israeli policies, but reject its identity as a Jewish
state.
After historic voter turnout delivered Arab-led parties a record share
in Israel's parliament, Tibi said the Joint List is willing to support
an anti-Netanyahu government without joining it. That could reassure
Jewish-led factions that view them with suspicion and satisfy their own
constituents. It would still give the Joint List major influence.
Only one Arab party has ever served in an Israeli government, in 2021.
But that party, Ra’am, is much more conciliatory than the Joint List and
held fewer seats. Ra’am is willing to join another anti-Netanyahu
government as a partner, but any such arrangement would still need the
support of the Joint List.
If the Jewish-led parties reject such a partnership, then it would prove
Israel is “an ethnocracy, not an absolute democracy for all citizens,”
Tibi said.
The Joint List's positions put it at odds with most Israelis.
Most of the Palestinian population in what is now Israel fled or were
expelled during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. Those who
remained were granted citizenship, including the right to vote, and
today they and their descendants make up some 20% of the population.
Many Jewish Israelis have historically viewed Arab-led political parties
with suspicion. That distrust has been reinforced by lawmakers who have
defended or praised Israel's enemies.
The Joint List, a coalition of three left-wing and nationalist parties,
rejects what it refers to as the “racist Zionist consensus” in Israel.
It calls for partnering with Jewish Israelis who support a Palestinian
state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories occupied in
the 1967 Mideast war. It rejects Israel’s identity as a Jewish state,
calling for equal rights for all its citizens.
Many Jewish Israelis see that as support for the country’s enemies at a
time of war. Netanyahu has encouraged such sentiments, lodging unproven
accusations of electoral fraud against the Arab-led parties and
portraying them as a threat to national security.
A dilemma for Netanyahu's opponents
That creates a dilemma for Netanyahu’s main opponents, led by former
general Gadi Eisenkot.
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In the campaign, they portrayed Netanyahu as a corrupt leader who
failed to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and then blocked a public
inquiry into it. They cast the election in existential terms, saying
Netanyahu’s far-right government threatened Israel’s democratic
institutions.
They won 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared to 53 for
Netanyahu’s coalition. The Joint List won 11 seats and Ra’am won 8,
making them crucial to forming an anti-Netanyahu majority.
The Joint List could help an anti-Netanyahu bloc take power by
voting for it or by abstaining to lower the threshold needed for a
majority. Either arrangement could allow opposition parties to form
a government without requiring the Joint List to become part of
their administration. Joining could put its lawmakers in the
uncomfortable position of being part of a government waging wars in
Gaza and Lebanon that they oppose.
Some of Eisenkot’s allies welcome Arab support while others are
opposed, pointing to past statements by Joint List leaders they
argue deny Israel’s legitimacy or support its enemies.
Tibi said he was under no illusions that a partnership with
Netanyahu’s opponents would end the wars or bring about a
Palestinian state. But he said a “repair government” would improve
the lives of Palestinian citizens, by ending Netanyahu’s rule and
also potentially addressing local issues like a wave of violent
crime in Arab communities.
It's unclear what conditions would be required
Eisenkot has said Arab-led parties must meet certain conditions in
any partnership, including calling Hamas a terrorist group that
needs to be destroyed.
Tibi said the conditions do not apply to parties like the Joint List
that want to provide outside support.
The Joint List and Ra’am have denounced Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack
and any violence against civilians. But they have refused to brand
Hamas a terrorist group or call for its destruction, saying that
doing so would justify Israel’s devastating military campaign in
Gaza.
Tibi said both the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s response to it were
immoral.
The veteran lawmaker has long been a lightning rod for right-wing
attacks on Arab parties. During Israel’s 2019 elections, Netanyahu,
popularly known as Bibi, campaigned on the slogan “Bibi or Tibi?” to
warn voters that opposing him meant relying on Arab-led parties to
form a government.
Tibi said Tuesday that the election result had turned the slogan on
its head.
“When he said ‘Bibi or Tibi,’ he incited against Arabs,” he said.
“Now, it’s ‘Tibi,’ because Arab voters went in a very massive way to
take part in the elections. It’s definitely our story this time.”
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