Yair Golan: ‘Absolutely not’ to unity government, opposition can form ‘stable’ coalition with Arab parties

Today, 9:48 pm

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The Democrats chair Yair Golan and members of his party celebrate at the election headquarters in Tel Aviv, following the release of exit poll results on election day, October 27, 2026. (Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90)

The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan expresses optimism that the change bloc can establish the next government with the support of the Arab-led parties.

During an interview on Channel 12, Golan rejects the idea of any unity government that includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party: “Absolutely not. That would be another Netanyahu government… he is a national security danger.”

Golan says the opposition parties “can establish a government and we must establish a government,” despite receiving only 48 seats out of the 120-member Knesset.

The Democrats head says he met yesterday with Yashar head Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad No. 2 Yair Lapid and Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas, “and I found all three deeply determined to form a government.”

Golan says Ra’am can join them in a coalition and the Joint List could provide support from outside the coalition. With Ra’am, the bloc has 56 seats, and the Joint List controls another 11 seats.

Eisenkot has said he will not sit with the Arab parties, as has B’Yachad chief Naftali Bennett, and today Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman steadfastly reiterated his refusal to sit with “terror supporters.”

Golan says the Arab parties would agree to not hold seats on the security cabinet due to the “sensitivities of the Israeli public.”

He notes, however, that the new Knesset — which is slated to be sworn in on November 10 — can accomplish a number of goals even before a government is established.

First up, he says, is replacing the Knesset speaker, then “repealing the judicial overhaul laws, and establishing a state commission of inquiry. All of that will happen before a government is formed.”

He reiterates that the opposition parties “will form a government that I believe can be stable, but even if its tenure is limited, we will be able, in a relatively short time, to save Israeli democracy and, most importantly, Israel’s security.”

Channel 12 reports that Liberman and Lapid are set to meet as early as tomorrow to discuss the issue of replacing the Knesset speaker. Reports have indicated that Lapid himself is in line for the job.