Arab party leaders seek to bring down Netanyahu government and offer conditional opposition cooperation ahead of Oct. 27 vote

The leaders of two predominantly Arab lists say their shared goal in the October 27 vote is to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, AFP reported. They are also open to cooperating with opposition parties, under certain conditions, to help form a parliamentary majority in Israel’s 120-member legislature.

Arab Israelis make up about 21 percent of the country’s population and have long complained of discrimination. The upcoming vote will see them represented by Raam, a moderate Islamist party led by Mansour Abbas, and the far-left Joint List, led by Yousef Jabareen. Voters are seeking to steer the country away from the far-right, according to the report.

Abbas said he entered politics to combat violent crime. Raam has named Yoav Segalovitz, a former senior police official, as its first-ever Jewish candidate. Abbas ruled out joining a coalition with Netanyahu and said he was aiming for eight seats. He said Raam was prepared to work with the opposition, particularly the bloc of Netanyahu’s main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, if certain conditions were met.

Jabareen said the Joint List could provide a safety net for an alternative government, but its support would depend on how opposition parties respond to the list’s platform, which criticizes the current administration’s policies and the war.

Several Arab citizens interviewed by AFP said they were deeply weary of hostility from the current government and strongly wanted a moderate administration free of war and violence.