TEL AVIV — Protesters rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday to urge Israel's opposition to ally with Arab-led parties to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Tuesday's general election ended in deadlock, the AFP news agency reported. AFP counted around 500 protesters at the rally at Habima Square, while Al Jazeera described thousands rallying in the city.

Source: AFP via ekkow, Oct 31, 2026

The arithmetic is the heart of the protest. Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament and the bloc led by opposition chief Gadi Eisenkot won 48, so neither side can form a government alone, according to the results reported by AFP and Al Jazeera. The three Arab-led parties won 19 seats between them — an alliance with Eisenkot's camp would give the anti-Netanyahu bloc a comfortable majority of 67 seats.

Source: Al Jazeera via Barbados Gazette, Oct 31, 2026

Arab-led parties made major gains in Tuesday's election, fuelled by anger over rhetoric targeting the community from Netanyahu's hard-right government, AFP reported. Nearly 840,000 people voted for Ra'am and the Joint List, according to Israel's Central Election Committee — a 64 percent increase from the last elections in 2022. Protesters told AFP this may be the 'last chance for real change' and called Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, a 'great manipulator'.

"Arabs and Jews will only win together" and "There is a majority for change" read some of the signs at the rally. Joining the protest, Ayelet Raz told AFP that the Arab community, which accounts for around 20 percent of Israel's population, had a right to political participation. Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats, has enthusiastically supported a government backed by Arab parties and met Mansour Abbas on Thursday, AFP reported.

But the coalition the protesters want is far from agreed. Eisenkot, a former military chief, has previously ruled out forming a coalition with Arab parties and, according to AFP, has not decided whether to seek one; Al Jazeera reported he had earlier ruled out such a deal. Avigdor Liberman, leader of the right-wing anti-Netanyahu Yisrael Beitenu party, has said he will not enter a coalition that relies on Arab parties, even for external support.

More than 100 Netanyahu supporters staged a counter-protest on the sidelines of the rally. Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh reported from Ramallah that counter-protesters shouted that Israel should not have a government with what they called 'terrorists' — a label the rally's supporters reject. Netanyahu has gone on the offensive against the Arab parties' leaders since the vote, AFP reported, and coalition talks are expected to decide whether Israel gets a new government or heads toward another election.