Joint List vows to work to oust Netanyahu after his new-Knesset speech

The Joint List, an alliance of Arab-led parties in Israel's parliament, said on November 10, 2026 that it would do everything it could to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after he used a speech to the newly sworn-in Knesset to attack Arab parties. The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu had targeted both Ra'am and the Joint List in the address and cautioned against forming a government that depends on Arab parties.

In its response, the Joint List described the prime minister as "bloodthirsty" and "criminal" and said he was in a state of "complete hysteria". It called the speech "deranged, inciting and racist". Later that evening, Ahmad Tibi, who chairs the Joint List's Knesset faction, wrote on X in Hebrew that what he called Netanyahu's speech of incitement and hatred would be his last as prime minister, and that he would be replaced very soon.

What the Joint List said it will do

The party framed its pledge as carrying out the wishes of its voters. According to the statement as reported by The Times of Israel, it said more than half a million citizens wanted to see Netanyahu removed, along with the Speaker of the Knesset and what it called his "Kahanist government". The party said it intended to send them to "the dustbin of history" and that it was committed to achieving this as soon as possible.

The statement did not set out a specific mechanism, such as a no-confidence motion or a coalition proposal, for how the party would pursue that goal.

Who is speaking

The Joint List is a parliamentary list representing parties whose voters are drawn mainly from Israel's Arab citizens. The Times of Israel identified Yousef Jabareen as the list's leader and Ahmad Tibi as chairman of its faction, the group of its elected members who sit together in the Knesset. Both attended a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on the day of the speech, according to the outlet.

Ra'am, the other party Netanyahu named in his speech, is a separate Arab party that runs independently of the Joint List. The two are frequently grouped together in Israeli political debate because both draw on the Arab electorate, but they do not form a single bloc.

The Knesset is Israel's single-chamber parliament. A newly elected Knesset is sworn in at its opening session, and that session is a moment when party leaders, including the prime minister, set out their positions ahead of coalition negotiations and votes on forming a government.

What "Kahanist" refers to

The Joint List's statement accused Netanyahu of leading a "Kahanist" government. The term refers to the ideology associated with Meir Kahane, an extremist rabbi and politician who was killed, as The Times of Israel noted in its report. In Israeli political language, calling a figure or a government Kahanist is a charge of far-right, anti-Arab extremism. The statement used the label without naming which ministers or policies it had in mind.

The dispute over Arab parties in government

The question of whether a governing coalition can or should rely on the votes of Arab parties is a recurring fault line in Israeli politics. According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu used his address to warn against any government built on that support. The Joint List's response treated that warning as an attack on the citizens who vote for Arab parties, which is why its statement leaned on the figure of more than half a million voters it says it speaks for.

Tibi's post on X, written in Hebrew rather than Arabic, was addressed to a broad Israeli audience. It is his own prediction and should be read as such: it does not describe any vote, agreement or procedure that is under way.

What the reports do not say

Neither report quotes Netanyahu's speech directly, so the exact language he used about Ra'am and the Joint List is not available in the material. There is no reported response from the prime minister's office, from his Likud party or from the Speaker of the Knesset to the Joint List's accusations. Ra'am's reaction to being named in the speech has not been reported. The Joint List has not said what concrete steps it will take, and Tibi's assertion that Netanyahu will soon be replaced was made without supporting detail.