‘From the river to the sea’: Hundreds rally across Israel for Jewish-Arab government as election count continues

(Photo: ANI) Hundreds protest in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa calling for Jewish-Arab government.

Around 300 people gathered at three locations in Israel to demand the formation of a Jewish-Arab government. The protests were held at Paris Square in Jerusalem, Mesila Park in Tel Aviv and Unesco Square in Haifa.Demonstrators held placards bearing slogans including “Freedom for all, from the river to the sea” and “Yes to a Jewish-Arab government”. Haaretz reported that the protests reflected a common call among participants for inclusive governance, ANI reported.The demonstrations took place as vote counting continued in Israel’s closely contested election, with partial results indicating that neither political bloc had secured a clear path to a parliamentary majority.According to figures published by the Central Elections Committee at 11.35pm local time, the pro-Netanyahu bloc held 53 seats, while the opposing bloc had 48. The figures were based on 90 per cent of votes counted across 97.5 per cent of ballot boxes, as reported by ANI, citing The Times of Israel.Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, a leading opposition candidate, described the results as a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and vowed to continue efforts to replace it, despite his political bloc falling short of a parliamentary majority.“This is the will of the people, who expressed no confidence in the government of October 7 and draft evasion, and in the draft-dodgers’ bloc as a whole,” Eisenkot wrote on X, criticising Netanyahu and his allies.“We have more long days of work ahead of us, but we are focused on the weighty task entrusted to us: bringing change to Israel and establishing a Zionist government committed to military conscription,” Eisenkot added. He also vowed to “rise to the great challenge ahead of us”.While pro-Netanyahu parties held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, his opponents held 67. However, the opposing camp remained divided, with Jewish-led parties holding 48 seats and Arab-led parties holding 19.Most Jewish-led factions have expressed unwillingness to form partnerships with Arab-led parties.Several parties were still below the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold, including Reservists at 2.6 per cent, the People of Israel at 1.6 per cent and the Charedi Public faction at 0.2 per cent.Election authorities cautioned that the figures were partial and could change as counting continued. Votes cast in double envelopes, including ballots from active-duty soldiers, are traditionally counted in the later stages of the process.