Arab politicians in Israel move to oust Prime Minister Netanyahu

A coalition of Arab politicians in Israel moved Sunday to help oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by throwing their support behind challenger Benny Gantz.

The decision by the “Joint List” alliance of four Arab political parties marked the first time in nearly three decades that it has backed a Jewish candidate to lead the country.

“Benny Gantz is not our cup of tea,” Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi said. “But we promised our constituents that we would do everything to topple Netanyahu, and the default here is recommending Benny Gantz.”

Netanyahu, whose campaign repeatedly accused Israel’s Arabs of trying to steal Tuesday’s election, said those claims had been proven.

“As we warned, the Arab parties that oppose Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and glorify terrorists, recommended Gantz for prime minister,” he said.

The Joint List’s announcement gave Gantz, a former chief of Israel’s military forces, a 57-55 edge over Netanyahu in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

But Yisrael Beitenu party leader Avigdor Lieberman, who controls the remaining eight seats, announced he wouldn’t endorse either candidate.

It is now up to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to pick who will get to form a government and serve as prime minister.

Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party won 33 seats in last week’s elections, while Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party captured 31.

The Joint List won 13, making it the Knesset’s third-largest bloc.

Tuesday’s results marked the second time in five months that Israeli elections had failed to produce a clear victor.

Joint List leader Ayman Odeh met Sunday with President Rivlin to recommend that he appoint Gantz to form the next government.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times, Odeh described the move as a watershed event in Israeli politics, saying, “We will decide who will be the next prime minister of Israel.”

The only other time Israel’s Arab politicians backed a Jewish candidate was in 1992, when Yitzhak Rabin was elected prime minister on a platform of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Rivlin told Likud leaders on Sunday that it was up to the “two biggest parties … to join forces,” saying, “This is what the people want. None of us can ignore that.”

Odeh said he planned to become opposition leader in the event of a unity government, which would permit him meetings with visiting world leaders and access to sensitive security information.

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