Netanyahu lost': Yair Golan calls for a government with 'Arab' parties, rejects exclusion of Palestinian votes Chairman of the Democratic Party in Israel, Yair Golan, called on the opposition, led by Gadi Eisenkot, to form a government with the cooperation of "Arab" (Palestinian) parties after the Israeli elections. In a post on X, Golan announced that Netanyahu had lost, claiming that the opposition controls a majority of 65 mandates compared to Netanyahu's 55. He condemned Netanyahu's distinction between Jewish and 'Arab' votes as racist, and insisted that the vote of a Palestinian citizen in Tayba has exactly the same weight as that of a Jewish citizen in Givat Shmuel. In response to Netanyahu's insistence on an "Israeli majority", Golan pointed to the 16 lawmakers from ultra-Orthodox non-Israeli parties within the Netanyahu bloc, criticizing their support for a broad exemption from military conscription. He claimed that the opposition holds both an Israeli majority of 49 seats against 39 and a total parliamentary majority of 65 against 55 when Palestinian parties are included. Golan urged the opposition leaders to abandon their reluctance to cooperate with Palestinian representatives and establish a government that serves all citizens. "We have a majority. We have a responsibility. And we have an opportunity to establish a government of change in partnership with the Arab citizens of Israel," he wrote. Meanwhile, with counting still underway, the latest reported results give the Netanyahu bloc 54 seats, the Eisenkot bloc 48, and the Arab parties 18, leaving no bloc with a majority on its own.

Netanyahu lost': Yair Golan calls for a government with 'Arab' parties, rejects exclusion of Palestinian votes Chairman of the Democratic Party in Israel, Yair Golan, called on the opposition, led by Gadi Eisenkot, to form a government with the cooperation of "Arab" (Palestinian) parties after the Israeli elections. In a post on X, Golan announced that Netanyahu had lost, claiming that the opposition controls a majority of 65 mandates compared to Netanyahu's 55. He condemned Netanyahu's distinction between Jewish and 'Arab' votes as racist, and insisted that the vote of a Palestinian citizen in Tayba has exactly the same weight as that of a Jewish citizen in Givat Shmuel. In response to Netanyahu's insistence on an "Israeli majority", Golan pointed to the 16 lawmakers from ultra-Orthodox non-Israeli parties within the Netanyahu bloc, criticizing their support for a broad exemption from military conscription. He claimed that the opposition holds both an Israeli majority of 49 seats against 39 and a total parliamentary majority of 65 against 55 when Palestinian parties are included. Golan urged the opposition leaders to abandon their reluctance to cooperate with Palestinian representatives and establish a government that serves all citizens. "We have a majority. We have a responsibility. And we have an opportunity to establish a government of change in partnership with the Arab citizens of Israel," he wrote. Meanwhile, with counting still underway, the latest reported results give the Netanyahu bloc 54 seats, the Eisenkot bloc 48, and the Arab parties 18, leaving no bloc with a majority on its own.