Netanyahu says coalition with Arab parties would ‘dismantle’ State of Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Nov 7 that a potential coalition between opposition parties and Arab lists would lead to the collapse of the country.



The statement came on the eve of the announcement by Israeli President Isaac Herzog of who will be tasked with forming the next government following last week's vote, with Netanyahu's rivals increasingly optimistic about removing the country's longest-serving prime minister.



The opposition, led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and political newcomer who has sought to appeal to secular and liberal Israelis, has opened the door to a once improbable alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jews.



It could give Eisenkot the numbers to form a coalition that might also include the moderate Islamist party Raam, whose leader has recognised Israel as a "Jewish state", and get the external support of the Arab-majority Joint List.



"Such a government, dependent on Islamists, will dismantle the State of Israel from within, as is happening in European countries, and far worse than that," Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded speech, echoing the language of far-right politicians on the continent who claim parts of Europe have come under Islamic law.