He clarified that he wasn\u2019t questioning Eisenkot\u2019s Zionism, \u201cbut I\u2019m talking about my position.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ultra-Orthodox and Arab parties chose not to be part of the Zionist story,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is as far from hatred as there is, but Israel needs a Zionist government today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t Hendel expressed similar sentiments earlier this week, telling the Ynet news outlet that under no circumstances would he join a governing coalition that depends on \u201cnon-Zionist\u201d elements, including the existing Haredi and Arab parties.<\/p>\n According to Hendel, it would be preferable to trigger repeat elections if the only alternative would be to hand the pro-Netanyahu bloc a parliamentary majority to pass laws enshrining sweeping ultra-Orthodox military exemptions. But he said he would sit with Netanyahu under a broad government that includes both Likud and the parties running against him.<\/p>\n Tropper said the pair were hoping to win the votes of the\u00a0\u201c300,000 Israelis who say they have no political home.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to merging his party with Tropper, Hendel\u2019s Reservists consistently polled below the electoral threshold, meaning the party would attract less than 3.25% of the total vote needed to enter the 120-seat Knesset.<\/p>\n A poll published by Maariv on Thursday suggested that the combined slate would still fall short with 2.9% of the vote, although a poll published by Israel Hayom showed it scraping by with the minimum four seats required to enter the Knesset.<\/p>\n Discontent over ultra-Orthodox military exemptions has not been contained to opposition parties. On Saturday night, freshman Likud MK Dan Illouz announced that he would not be standing for reelection in the Likud primaries later this year.<\/p>\n Illouz is one of the party\u2019s most outspoken voices against the government\u2019s bill exempting Haredi men from military service and has repeatedly clashed with coalition and Likud figures over its legislation, which he has said goes against Likud\u2019s \u201cnational, liberal values.\u201d<\/p>\n \t His resignation came a week after longtime member Yuli Edelstein announced that he would also be departing Likud to forge \u201ca new political path,\u201d as he could no longer campaign for a party seeking to uphold the practice of exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service.<\/p>\n Also Saturday, Mansour Abbas told \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that his Islamist Ra\u2019am party would not run jointly with the other Arab-majority parties in the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n Although Abbas had indicated earlier this year that he was open to a joint run with Hadash, Ta\u2019al and Balad, he told Channel 12 that he ultimately decided against it.<\/p>\n The four Arab-majority parties signed an agreement in January, committing to work together to revive the Joint List ahead of this year\u2019s election, but negotiations stalled for months, mainly due to Abbas\u2019s insistence that it be a purely technical bloc that would preserve Ra\u2019am\u2019s ability to join a governing coalition, which the other three Arab-majority parties oppose \u2014 a demand that Hadash said the parties ultimately agreed to.<\/p>\n But a source with knowledge of the negotiations told The Times of Israel that the main obstacle that prevented a final agreement was Ra\u2019am\u2019s demand that the other parties also commit not to oppose or bring down any government that the Islamist party chooses to join.<\/p>\n \t Abbas appeared to confirm this rift in his remarks to Channel 12, telling the network that Hadash, Ta\u2019al and Balad, \u201chave a shared agenda; they constantly want to be the opposition, and not just that, but the opposition of the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n He described the aforementioned agenda as: \u201cDissolving every Knesset, bringing down every government.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m looking to do things another way \u2014 cooperation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There is no guarantee, however, that any of the figures running to replace Netanyahu would be willing to sit in a coalition with Ra\u2019am.<\/p>\n While Eisenkot has not ruled out relying on Ra\u2019am to form a government, former prime minister Naftali Bennett has said that he will not form a coalition with Abbas, despite having done so in the past.<\/p>\n Ra\u2019am joined the Bennett-Yair Lapid governing coalition in 2021, making Abbas the first Arab party leader to do so in half a century.<\/p>\n Ra\u2019am\u2019s base is among the traditional Bedouin communities in the Negev desert.<\/p>\n For decades, Arab Israeli parties have almost always remained on the outside of the decision-making process in Israeli politics. Jewish parties shunned them as extremists, while they themselves were often skeptical of joining an Israeli government that they believed treated them as second-class citizens and oppressed Palestinians.<\/p>\n Recent Zman Yisrael polls have shown both Ra\u2019am and an alliance of Arab parties reaching the necessary 4 seats to enter the Knesset.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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\n\t\tMK Chili Tropper (left) and former minister Yoaz Hendel hold a joint press conference announcing the formation of a new political party ahead of the upcoming elections in Tel Aviv, on July 7, 2026. (Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/F260707YS35-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tLikud MK Dan Illouz attends a Knesset House Committee meeting on July 7, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/F260603YS52-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tRa\u2019am leader Mansour Abbas (left) and Ta\u2019al chief Ahmad Tibi walk outside the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, June 3, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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