'Give peace a chance': Israeli protesters urge opposition to ally with Arab parties

Hundreds of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday to urge the opposition to ally with Arab parties to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has gone on the offensive against the minority group's leaders. Arab-majority parties made major gains in Tuesday's election, fuelled by anger over rhetoric targeting the community from Netanyahu's hard-right government, but opposition chief Gadi Eisenkot has not decided whether to seek a coalition with them. Joining a rally in Tel Aviv, Ayelet Raz said that the Arab community, which accounts for around 20 percent of Israel's population, had a right to political participation. "It's the last chance for real change," the 60-year-old psychologist said, warning that Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, was a "great manipulator". "We need to give peace a chance," she said. "Otherwise we'll have this bloodshed forever." Tuesday's election was inconclusive, with neither bloc reaching a majority in Israel's 120-seat parliament. Jewish-majority parties opposed to Netanyahu, known by his nickname Bibi, won 48 seats, while two Arab-majority parties, Raam and the Joint List, secured a combined 19 seats. An alliance between the two camps would potentially give the anti-Netanyahu bloc a comfortable majority of 67 seats, but the idea is opposed by some parties in the opposition bloc. Arab parties have only once formally sat in an Israeli government, when Raam leader Mansour Abbas joined a short-lived coalition that lasted from 2021 to 2022. He has voiced a willingness to do so again. Eisenkot, 66, a former military chief and political novice, largely shares Netanyahu's views on security issues including Gaza, which Israel has reduced to rubble since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Eisenkot reiterated on Saturday that he would only form a "Zionist government" whose members commit to the "recognition of Israel as a Jewish, democratic and liberal state" and to the "recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organisation", conditions that Arab leaders have previously refused to accept. While he has said he does not want a government dependent on Arab lists, Eisenkot has not explicitly rejected their external support. "I want them (the opposition bloc) to go ahead to be brave and do the right thing," said demonstrator Sharon Balaban, 55, a video artist in Jerusalem. Report by AFP