President Isaac Herzog will continue consultations with Knesset factions today (Thursday) ahead of assigning the mandate to form the next government. Representatives of the Joint List arrived at the President’s Residence, followed by delegations from Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beiteinu, and Likud—after Herzog met earlier today with representatives from Otzma Yehudit, The Democrats, and Ra’am.
2+During the meeting with President Herzog, Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen addressed the Arab community’s high voter turnout and the election results. According to him, the union of Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad—which won 11 Knesset seats—reflected public demand for political unity. Jabareen argued the move contributed to increased turnout among Arab voters. Jabareen went on to sharply criticize Netanyahu’s government and its treatment of Arab society. He alleged discrimination in budget and resource allocation, home demolitions in the Negev, and harm to local authorities. He also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of leading an atmosphere of incitement against the Arab public.
2+Jabareen also addressed the government’s policy in the Negev and Galilee, claiming that the use of the term “Judaization of the Negev and Galilee” reflects discrimination against the Arab population. According to him, the treatment of the Arab public has worsened in recent years, and he expressed disappointment with the president’s level of involvement in the issue. Herzog responded: “I think I was very clear.”
Herzog then asked the faction’s representatives where the Arab public has been since the October 7 attack. Jabareen replied that the problems facing Arab society—including crime, racism, and lack of resources—have intensified since then, and that it’s time for a policy change toward the community. MK Ahmad Tibi also addressed the president’s question, claiming the Arab public suffered after October 7 from arrests, incitement, and damage to its status. According to him, hundreds of Arab students, doctors, and academics were summoned to disciplinary committees or fired from their jobs. In contrast, Arab citizens continued working in the healthcare system even during the war.
2+Tibi accused the prime minister of ongoing incitement against the Arab public, claiming that treating it as an enemy contributed to feelings of exclusion. According to him, the high voter turnout in the election expressed Arab citizens’ desire to oppose government policy and work for change through democratic tools.
Addressing allegations that emerged after the election about irregularities at polling stations in the Arab sector, Tibi said the Arab public turned out en masse to vote out of a sense that it needed to defend its status. He criticized the use of terms like “ballot jihad” and “electoral October 7” to describe the voting results.
Herzog then asked Tibi whether it could be said that the Arab public underwent a process of Israelization following October 7. Tibi replied that there was empathy in Arab society for the pain following the attack, but stressed that Arab citizens also have relatives in the Gaza Strip. He said two children from his family were killed in the bombardments, and claimed that elements on the right denied the Arab public the right to express grief over the deaths of their relatives. The meeting ended with the Joint List recommending Gadi Eisenkot as Israel’s next prime minister.