Israel | Israel: Confronted with right-wing reality

Supporters of the Arab-led United List alliance cheer at the alliance's campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth. Photo: AFP/Ahmad Gharabli Even if all the votes have not yet been counted, a picture of the outcome of the Israeli parliamentary election is already emerging. After around 85 percent of the votes were counted (as of Wednesday, 1:39 p.m. Berlin time), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing camp is ahead with 53 seats, his challenger Gadi Eisenkot has 48 and the Arab parties have 19. Netanyahu's Likud is the strongest force among the individual parties with 26 parliamentary seats; Behind them is the center party Jaschar von Eisenkot with 21 seats. As election researchers predicted, neither of the two competing camps achieved the required absolute majority of 61 seats in parliament. The Arab parties are the deciding factor.

Only: Neither Netanyahu wants to enter into a coalition with them nor does Eisenkot. This clearly shows how much the Arabic-speaking part of the Israeli population counts for official policy - practically nothing. The Arab parties made significant gains in this election, largely due to the high turnout among Arab voters. So far, the Arab parties have had ten seats in parliament, this time there could be 19 - that would be enough for the opposition alliance around Eisenkot to forge a stable government.

So far, only the leader of the opposition left-liberal Democrats, Jair Golan, has called for the formation of a coalition with the Arab parties. "We can no longer accept Netanyahu's racist distinction between Jewish and Arab voices," he said. Anyone who tries to erase the voices of Arab citizens is capitulating to Netanyahu and giving up on Israel. However, he has to convince his potential coalition partners of this idea: Gadi Eisenkot (Jashar), Jair Lapid and Naftali Bennett (Alliance Bejakhad/Together) and Avigdor Lieberman (Jisrael Beitenu).

All those who assumed that Netanyahu's time was up are now confronted with reality: well over half of Israelis consider themselves to be right-wing, between 60 and 70 percent, depending on the polls. 75 percent of Israeli first-time voters classify themselves as right-wing. A change in policy is not possible under this current social situation.

A large part of the population supports Benjamin Netanyahu's war policy; many want a final military reckoning with Iran and Lebanon. And according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, only about one in five Israelis (17 percent) and Palestinians (21 percent) say Israel and a Palestinian state could exist together in peace. Majorities in both places – 56 percent in Israel and 68 percent in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – do not believe a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is possible. The election will not change anything for the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel's Arab parties appear ready to play a role in removing Netanyahu from power. The chairman of the United List, Yussef Jabarin, said the day after the parliamentary election: "We are ready to pave the way for the replacement of the government of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich - and to send them home." This government has made the life of every Arab citizen hell.

It would be desirable that at least the Palestinians with Israeli passports, who feel the daily segregation as second-class citizens, would be given the chance to improve their living situation. If no agreement is reached, new elections could be scheduled in the spring - until then Netanyahu would remain head of government.

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