Netanyahu calls on opposition to form a government without Arab parties

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the formation of a broad coalition government without Arab parties and stated that he is ready to lead it, given that his Likud party finished first in the parliamentary elections, AFP reports.

"We seek to form an expanded government with our partners and any party that wishes to join us and does not support terrorism. I am open to dialogue on this issue," the politician said in a statement published on the party's Telegram channel.

According to him, the public in Israel does not want a government dependent on Ra'am and the Joint List. Netanyahu referred to the two Arab parties, which posted record results, describing them as "supporting terrorism and denying the existence of the Jewish state."

Israel's election commission reported that the coalition of right-wing and far-right parties of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the parliamentary elections, receiving a total of 53 seats, including 27 for his Likud party.

However, the coalition is still far from the 61 of 120 seats in parliament needed to obtain a majority.

The opposition, led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, received 48 seats.

The voting results also confirm an impressive breakthrough by the two Arab lists. Ra'am (an abbreviation meaning "Joint List" in Hebrew) and the Joint List (on the left) received eight and eleven seats.