Golan says Arab party can join govt, party walks it back

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party, sparked a political storm on Sunday when he declared in an interview that an Arab party could be part of a government. The statement came after a meeting of opposition bloc leaders held Saturday night at the home of Yair Lapid, but the party quickly clarified that the subject never came up at the meeting.

"We are working internally on appropriate Arab representation, and we also think an Arab party can be in a government," Golan said in a morning interview with Aryeh Golan on Kan News. "It's natural, correct, proper, democratic, and in my view expresses how we bring about real repair after years of incitement," he added.

The statement drew immediate responses, and the Democrats party issued a clarification: "Yair Golan's remarks this morning with Aryeh Golan regarding the inclusion of Arabs referred to the Democrats' position and our intention to act as much as we can to advance partnership and inclusion. The subject did not come up at all at the meeting held last night."

The Saturday night meeting took place at the home of opposition leader Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv, with participants including Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan. The session lasted less than an hour, and at its conclusion the five signed a joint statement of principles in which they present themselves as the "Repair Bloc" rather than the "Change Bloc."

The document signed by the party leaders stated: "Out of recognition that even if there are ideological disagreements among us, replacing the government is our shared overriding goal, and it is our duty to work together to achieve it." They also agreed that the party leaders would not attack one another during the election campaign.

Netanyahu's response to the meeting (Photo: Lihiya Lapid / Editing: artificial intelligence, Likud)

The question of including Arab parties in a government remains a sensitive issue in the political arena. While in the past Ra'am under Mansour Abbas was part of the Bennett-Lapid government, the subject still stirs controversy among center-left parties.

Meanwhile, the Arab parties themselves are undergoing unification processes. Hadash, Ta'al and Balad have reached agreements on a joint run, with Yosef Jabareen heading the list, Ahmad Tibi in second place and Sami Abu Shehadeh in third. Ra'am under Mansour Abbas will run separately.

Benny Gantz, who was previously a partner in the Change Bloc, was not invited to the Saturday night meeting. Gantz, who formed the National Unity party after leaving the government, is currently outside the united center-left bloc.