Netanyahu Seeks Broad Coalition and Rules Out Arab Parties After Inconclusive Election

Jerusalem, Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed an expanded coalition government under his leadership and excluded any cooperation with Arab parties. Their 19 seats could give the opposition a parliamentary majority after the recent election.

Netanyahu’s appeal

In a statement posted on Likud’s official Telegram channel on Monday, Netanyahu said:

Related: Israel Faces Coalition Deadlock After Inconclusive Election, With Several Scenarios Open

RelatedIsrael Faces Coalition Deadlock After Inconclusive Election, With Several Scenarios Open

“We seek to form an expanded government with our partners and with any party that wishes to join us and does not support terrorism. I am open to dialogue on this issue.”

He argued that Israeli voters do not want a government that relies on Raam and the Joint List. The two Arab alliances won a combined 19 of the 120 Knesset seats. Netanyahu accused them of backing terrorism and denying the existence of a Jewish state, accusations the parties have rejected.

Election arithmetic

The vote on October 27 gave neither Netanyahu nor his chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, the 61 seats needed for a majority government. Netanyahu’s coalition won 53 seats, while the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot took 48. With Raam and the Joint List added, the opposition would hold 67 seats.

Israel now faces several weeks of political uncertainty. Netanyahu is trying to stop the Arab parties from backing an alternative government that could remove him from office.

Fraud allegations and official response

Since the vote, Netanyahu and allies in Likud have alleged widespread irregularities linked to Arab parties, including bribery, foreign funding and electoral fraud. They have demanded investigations and arrests and, in some cases, cancellation of the election.

Israel’s Central Elections Committee has called the claims baseless and said there is no evidence of systematic interference. On Sunday, its chairman, Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Solberg, appeared alongside the heads of the Shin Bet security service and the attorney-general to defend the integrity of the process. They said the result would stand even if suspicions about foreign funding were confirmed.