Israel

The Arab parties within Israel are  now the kingmakers in the country’s parliament. They have power, but the tale of the Israeli Palestinians has been a long and bitter battle to deny them representation.

For the first 18 years of modern Israel’s existence, the Palestinians remaining in the new state’s borders were subject to military rule. Villages were razed. Palestinians were penned in camps behind barbed wire. There were sporadic massacres.

Gradually, however, the Palestinians clawed back their rights and they learned to use those rights to protect and advance their cause. Rather than fight the system they decided to work within it. Political parties were formed. They learned to speak Hebrew. Their children went to university. Palestinians were elected to the Knesset. Some even became cabinet ministers—albeit short-lived ones.

The Palestinian community became particularly dominant within Israel’s medical community. A quarter of the country’s doctors are of Palestinian origin.

But prejudices and their consequences remain. Israel’s rail network largely bypasses Arab towns. There is a big gap in public spending between Jewish and Arab schools and municipalities. There are recurring attempts by the right-wing Jewish  parties to deny the vote to the Arab population of two million.

A crime wave driven by young people bereft of opportunities has engulfed Arab towns and villages. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has responded by reducing police protection and turning a blind eye to the activities of far-right Jewish gangs. During the Gaza War, Israeli Arabs were demonised as fifth columnists.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has broadly hinted that he wants to move Jewish settlements into the Arab communities. A sort of Israeli gerrymandering that would change the political demographics.

In the past, Israeli Arabs have shrugged their shoulders, muttered “whatever” under their breaths and got on with life as best they could. They rarely bothered to vote. Their vote counted for little because 80 percent of the population voted against their interests.

But then came Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest Likud government supported by the far-right ultra-Orthodox parties. Likud’s persistent threats to their very existence brought Arab Israelis out en masse. Nearly 80 percent voted to elect 19 Arab politicians to the Knesset. Neither Netanyahu’s coalition  with 53 elected members nor the opposition coalition led by Gadi Eisenkot (48 members) has the 61 Knesset members needed to form a majority. The balance of power is held by the Arabs.

Netanyahu’s first move was to employ a Trumpian tactic and declare that the Arabs had been bankrolled by Qatar. How else, he argued, could they have turned out nearly 80 percent of the vote. This argument was rejected earlier this week by President Isaac Herzog.

Then on Friday, the two Arab parties—Ra’am or the United Arab List, led by Mansour Abbas and Hadresh or the Joint List led by Yousef Jabareen—announced that they are recommending to President Herzog that Eisenkot be asked to form the next Israeli government.

This does mean, however, that Eisenkot’s opposition group  and the Arabs have agreed to form a coalition government. Eisenkot has demanded that if the Arabs want to join  his government they have to formally denounce Hamas as a terrorist organisation and accept Israel as the Jewish state. Both issues are long-standing  sticking points with both Arab coalitions.

But fear of another Likud government drove Arab voters to the polls and could drive their representatives to compromise. The two Arab coalitions could, for instance, agree to support an Eisenkot  government on an issue by issue basis without committing to joining the government. If that happens it is bye-bye Bibi.