Netanyahu Holds Office as Israeli Opposition Stalls on Palestinian Partners

Benjamin Netanyahu retains the ability to lead Israel’s government following the national elections held on 28 October. Although the vote stripped his far-right coalition of its previous mandate and gave the opposition a firm majority, the prime minister can remain in power if most Jewish opposition parties honor their pledge not to govern alongside Palestinian-led parties.

The opposition now holds a numerical advantage in the Knesset. However, leaders of major Jewish parties have maintained a strict boundary against forming a cabinet with Palestinian representatives. This political stance creates a stalemate. Netanyahu can serve as caretaker prime minister for an extended period or trigger another round of elections if his rivals cannot bridge the ethnic divide in coalition talks.

Yair Golan, the leader of the centre-left Democrats, rejected the idea that the opposition faces a deadlock. "Netanyahu lost. I know how to count," he said. Golan called for a government that includes Palestinian citizens, who comprise approximately 20% of the country's population. He urged voters to stop accepting the division between Jewish and Arab votes that defined the recent campaign.

Public sentiment among opposition voters appears more flexible than their leaders. Eran Halperin, a political psychology researcher, reported that a survey taken as polling stations closed showed a clear majority of opposition voters supported forming a government with the Palestinian-led Ra'am party. The primary goal for these voters was to remove Netanyahu from office. Opposition leaders remained silent on Wednesday, weighing the desire to unseat the prime minister against their prior commitments.

Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the largest opposition party, has not directly ruled out a partnership with Palestinian parties. However, he set conditions that make such an alliance politically difficult. Ra'am, an Islamist party, signaled its intent to work with Jewish Israelis by placing a former police chief in second position on its candidate list. Yousef Jabareen, head of the larger Joint List, stated his party was ready to pave the way for the ousting of the current government through Jewish-Arab partnership.

Netanyahu’s campaign relied heavily on the slogan "The right or Palestine," which framed Palestinian citizens as an internal enemy. On election night, he dismissed the loss of about 10 seats from the 64-seat coalition he formed in 2022. He claimed the right-wing bloc held a decisive majority among the Zionist public and called for a strong national-right government. The overall composition of the Knesset has moved further right, a trend also seen among young Israelis.

The election took place against a backdrop of concerns regarding democracy and the aftermath of the 7 October attacks. Many Israelis viewed the vote as a decision on the future of the state within its pre-1967 borders. Palestinian citizens, facing rising crime, discrimination, and home demolitions, turned out in record numbers. They watched relatives endure violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The outcome leaves Israel facing a choice between maintaining its identity as a Jewish state and ensuring democratic representation for all citizens.