Israel has ‘historic’ opportunity to change direction, says leader of Arab coalition

Yousef Jabareen: ‘If [Gadi] Eisenkot speaks of change, I believe that the change should come also for our community. We need to be treated equally.’ Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/ View image in fullscreen Yousef Jabareen: ‘If [Gadi] Eisenkot speaks of change, I believe that the change should come also for our community. We need to be treated equally.’ Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/ Israel has ‘historic’ opportunity to change direction, says leader of Arab coalition Yousef Jabareen says he is ready to join forces with opposition bloc to oust Benjamin Netanyahu after winning record number of seats in Knesset The leader of Israel’s main Palestinian coalition, which holds the balance of power after Tuesday’s elections, has said the country is facing a historic opportunity to change direction. Yousef Jabareen, the head of the Joint List, said he was ready to join forces with the “Change” bloc to oust Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition, and to wrest control of the Knesset. Turnout among Arab Israelis (Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, 20% of the population) more than doubled to about 80%, transforming the political landscape. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza had no vote. Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, is due to summon political leaders as early as Wednesday to canvass their recommendations on who should be given the first chance to form the next government, with no single grouping commanding a clear claim on power. Chart showing projected seats in the KnessetNetanyahu’s coalition lost its majority, dropping from 68 to 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. The Change bloc of Zionist parties led 48 seats, leaving the Arab-Israeli parties as potential kingmakers with a record 19 seats. The Joint List has 11, while the more conservative, Islamist Ra’am has eight. ‘You need the power of all your votes’: Bedouin women secure success for Arab parties in Israeli election Eisenkot and his partners have pledged not to form a unity government with Netanyahu, but Eisenkot has also put conditions on any potential coalition with Arab parties: they have to recognise that Israel is a Jewish state, accept conscription, and denounce Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Ra’am and its leader, Mansour Abbas, have signalled it is ready to join an Eisenkot coalition. The Joint List has no intention of joining such a government, but Jabareen said the coalition was ready to keep it afloat from the outside with tactical voting in the Knesset. “The conditions that [Eisenkot] speaks of are more relevant for parties who would be in the coalition.