Ahmad Tibi, head of the Joint List’s parliamentary faction in Israel’s Knesset, has alleged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a fresh election so that he can remain caretaker prime minister, and has urged the opposition to stop him by forming a government under Gadi Eisenkot.
Speaking to Türkiye Today and other outlets, Tibi said he believes Netanyahu is seeking another vote to cling to power. He claimed that Netanyahu may want to launch a war on Iran in coordination with US President Donald Trump after the American midterm elections on November 3, and then call another election.
The latest Israeli election ended with neither bloc winning a majority. Final tallies showed that Netanyahu’s bloc fell short of the 61 seats needed in the 120-member Knesset, leaving the Arab parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, with enough seats to decide who can form a government. High turnout among Arab citizens, which Tibi describes as a historic shift after decades of boycotts, kept the right from a majority.
Tibi said the opposition should move quickly and announce that a government will be formed with Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, as prime minister. The Joint List is ready to help, he said, and would act as a “safety net” for such a government. In an interview with CNN, he said the “change bloc can form a government”, and added that “Netanyahu won’t be able to form one”. He urged opposition leaders to be brave. The Joint List has offered to back a minority government, and Tibi said he had received hundreds of calls and messages after the first exit polls, including from a significant figure in the opposition bloc, though not from Eisenkot himself.
Tibi also accused Netanyahu and his allies of running a campaign against Palestinian citizens of Israel after the vote. Likud responded to the strong Arab showing by accusing the Arab parties of “stealing the election”. Tibi rejected the charge. “The only address for thieves is Netanyahu’s Prime Minister’s Office,” he said. He argued that the right wants Arabs not to vote so it can keep governing. The Arab parties and Qatar have denied the allegations, and Eisenkot has accused Netanyahu of trying to delegitimise the election results. Israeli police have reportedly found no evidence to support Likud’s fraud claims.
The Likud leader also questioned why Tibi had travelled to Qatar before the election, and published a photograph of him at Al Jazeera. Tibi said he had given an interview that millions watched and returned soon after, and that anyone who dislikes it can deal with it. He also criticised the distance that Avigdor Lieberman had put between himself and the opposition after the election, calling it irresponsible.
The opposition has not yet agreed on how to proceed. Yair Golan of the Israeli Democrats has already met Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas to discuss a new government. But parties in the opposition bloc have long refused to rely on Arab party votes to form a coalition, which Tibi says is the main obstacle. If no government can be formed, Israel would head to another election, as it has several times in recent years.
