Born in the year 1948, Israel has had a history of neglecting Palestinians from the very beginning and a big chunk of Arabs were left behind out of fear and intimidation. But, time changes. Everything has its heyday.
One hopes that because of a significant victory in the recently held parliamentary polls, things will seem more equal. It has been correctly said that united we stand, divided we fall. This was proved when Arab parties fought the polls.
The election trend shows Benjamin Netanyahu failed to gather the number of the seats requiring to form the fresh government within five months. This poll saw Arab parties win as many as 12 seats in the Knesset. Scatterbrained right-wingers may not take it positively but weren’t they supposed to be offering their support to the party forming the government to oust Netanyahu if the situation should demand it?
As the election happened, a Jewish voter outside a polling booth in West Jerusalem, said he had voted for the Arab parties in angered protest. It was less about their policies. His vote was for one reason, “I’m against racism,” reported The Guardian.
69-year-old Benjamin Netanyahu in the year 2015 said that Arabs were voting in droves and had to shout they would collect enough parliamentary seats in the fresh polls. In view of such a reaction, one Arab city counsellor Abed Abu Shihadeh said, “PM Netanyahu’s political discourse gave Arabs a sense of importance – that their vote matters.”
This calculation turns to be vital in the formation of the government as Arab parties’ favoured tilt would bring the party to hold the reigns of the government at all.
If the main opposition party – Blue and White – comes forward under retired general Benny Gantz who led the bloody war in Gaza in 2014, had vowed to control significant Palestinian territory. Oddly enough, the same people are intending to support an emerging leader, as without direct Arab support, the formation is a far cry at the moment.
It is aptly significant to mention here that the strategy to unite has paid off. The Arab leader of the main faction in Knesset, Ayman Odeh, was brimming with confidence. Of course, the Palestinian vote has increased up to 12 points since the previous votes.