Golan demands Arab parties join new government after Netanyahu's defeat

The opposition bloc reached 65 seats in the 2026 Knesset elections, a threshold that Yair Golan argued proves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost. Golan, the chairman of The Democrats, stated on Wednesday morning that the opposition now holds a majority and must form a government that includes Arab parties. He rejected the idea that the right-wing coalition could retain power, noting that 65 is greater than the 55 seats required for a governing majority.

Golan wrote that Israeli democracy dictates that the bloc with the most seats must lead. He specifically called for the inclusion of Arab parties in the upcoming government formation process. He addressed Netanyahu directly, suggesting that if the Prime Minister intended to create a strictly Zionist bloc, he should deduct the 16 Knesset members from non-Zionist Haredi parties from his own count. Golan claimed the opposition has a responsibility to build a government of change in partnership with Israel's Arab citizens to serve all residents of the state.

The Central Elections Committee provided data showing that the opposition bloc is projected to enter the Knesset with 47 seats. This group includes Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and Golan's Democrats, which is projected to win nine seats. When combined with the Arab parties, the total opposition count reaches 65. The data indicates that the Joint List is projected to win 12 seats, while Ra'am is expected to secure six seats.

MK Gilad Kariv of The Democrats described the morning after the election as a different political reality for Israel. Kariv noted on X/Twitter that the right-wing coalition lost a considerable number of seats and likely cannot form a government in the same configuration as before. He observed that the opposition has grown stronger in its representation of both the liberal Jewish public and the Arab public. Kariv stated that a substantial majority, by a margin of hundreds of thousands of votes, voted against Netanyahu.

Kariv emphasized that a large segment of the Israeli public serves, works, and creates, and expects leaders to make decisive choices about the country's future. He argued that Netanyahu and his partners must not continue leading the country along a destructive path. The Democrats' call for a coalition with Arab parties follows the election results that gave those parties an unprecedented number of seats in the new Knesset.