‘Forbidden to form govt with them’: Netanyahu targets Arab parties after Israel polls as majority eludes both coalitions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that he will not form a government with Arab parties, sharing a video of remarks by Arab political leaders and opposition lawmakers as Israel faces difficult coalition negotiations following the election.

In a post on X on Friday, Netanyahu shared a compilation of speeches and statements by several Arab politicians, including Ahmad Tibi, Iman Khatib-Yasin, Mansour Abbas, Sami Abu Shehadeh, Ofer Cassif, Yousef Jabareen and Ayman Odeh.

The leaders are heard expressing support for the Palestinian cause, a position that right-wing Jewish factions view as anti-national.

“It is forbidden to form a government with them,” Netanyahu said, reiterating his opposition to an alliance with Arab parties.

Netanyahu faces difficult coalition negotiations

Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and far-right parties secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with his Likud party winning 27. The opposition bloc, led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats.

The Arab party groupings Raam and the Joint List emerged as potential kingmakers after securing a combined 19 seats. However, neither major bloc has reached the 61 seats required to form a government, raising the possibility of prolonged negotiations or another election if talks fail.

The final results came after Netanyahu’s camp amplified allegations that Arab-Israeli groups had received foreign funding to influence the vote. The claims were rejected by the Arab-majority lists and Qatar.

The controversy centred on accusations that Qatar had provided money to Raam to finance vote-buying operations. Likud described the allegations as the “Raamgate scandal”, saying: “The Raamgate scandal is a political earthquake. Israel's elections have been stolen!”

Raam leader Mansour Abbas denied wrongdoing and welcomed an investigation. The Joint List accused Netanyahu and his allies of running a “campaign of incitement” because of growing political influence among Arab voters.

Qatar dismissed the accusations as “ridiculous and dangerous”.

Also Read: Rain postpones INDIA bloc’s ‘public impeachment’ of CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Lapid declares opposition victory

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has claimed that the anti-Netanyahu camp won the election, arguing that the prime minister has no viable route to forming a government.

In a lengthy post on X on Friday, Lapid acknowledged that his camp had not secured an outright majority but said the results marked a political victory. He also highlighted the voter turnout of 77.7 per cent, which he described as the highest since 1999.

“The people showed up,” Lapid said.

He argued that Netanyahu’s 53 seats included 13 won by parties that openly describe themselves as non-Zionist, leaving the prime minister with only 40 seats from his own political camp.

“No matter what he does, he has nowhere to pull a government from,” Lapid said.

Declaring victory for the opposition, he added: “So we won. It's not a knockout victory. It's a points victory. That counts too. A win is a win.”