‘Removing Netanyahu is the most important thing’, Mustafa Barghouti tells Euronews

Israel has voted, but the political deadlock continues. Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for survival, his opponents are struggling to form an alternative government, and Arab parties have emerged as potential kingmakers after historic electoral gains. But will any of this make a difference for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? Or is Israel's political establishment fundamentally united in rejecting their aspirations for statehood? Let's bring in Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Good morning to you. So, Dr. Barghouti, Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his parliamentary majority, but he's far from politically finished. From a Palestinian perspective, is this election a victory, a disappointment, or simply more of the same? No, unfortunately, it's a combination. First of all, the fact that Netanyahu's bloc has lost is important. Second, the unfortunate thing is that all Zionist parties in Israel, whether in government with Netanyahu or in opposition to Netanyahu all share the same views of rejecting Palestinian rights including rejecting a Palestinian state, rejecting the right of the Palestinians to have self-determination, rejecting the idea of ending the Israeli illegal occupation and most importantly all these parties support the continuation of illegal settlement activities. Which are destroying any potential for peace. That is the problem. And they all are supportive of continuing the genocidal war on Gaza. On the other hand, none of these two blocs can form a government without the third factor in these elections, which is the very big rise of the number of seats that Palestinian Arabs in Israel hold. 19 seats. They are the decision-maker in this case, and I hope this will have an impact on removing at least the most fascist ministers in the Israeli government, like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, who have been responsible for terrible attacks, including ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Let me follow up on this. Gadi Eisenkot could replace Netanyahu, but he's a former Israeli military chief. Would a government led by Eisenkot really be any better for Palestinians? It would be better if they remove these fascist ministers like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, and if they have the sufficient courage. to rely on the votes of the Arab members of the Knesset who are ready to provide this support so that a change can make and end this whole era of Netanyahu's administration. Netanyahu has been responsible not only for slaughtering Palestinians in Gaza and for enhancing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, but he has been responsible for creating wars with Lebanon, with Syria, threatening Jordan. And trying to impose Israel as an imperial force controlling the Middle East. Removing Netanyahu is the most important thing today. So if Eisenkot have the courage, he can do it. On that note, Arab parties have made historic electoral gains and could now hold the balance of power. Isn't that an extraordinary opportunity for Palestinians to influence Israeli politics? Yes, and it shows you that the Palestinians, many of whom have been passive and worried and afraid because of oppression they are subjected to and because of their terrible racism in Israel. Where they speak about Israel as a Jewish-only state, ignoring the rights of the 20% of the population. And now they are not passive, they are active. Now they believe in themselves, they believe that they have the strength and they have the power to demand their rights. And that's an important addition to the overall Palestinian struggle, whether in the occupied Palestinian territories or among Palestinian refugees in the diaspora, or now inside Israel. I think this is a very positive factor. And it shows that the Palestinian community inside Israel will defend its rights and defend itself in democratic means, of course. But the most horrible thing is when you see Israeli parties, whether in governments or in opposition, using racist terms like the votes of the Arabs should not count and they should not have a right to have a power inside the Knesset. That is absolute racism. And it brings back the main question. How could Israel claim to be a democracy when it is practicing apartheid against another nation? And how can Israel be a Jewish-only state when 20 percent of its population are Palestinian Arabs? Let me ask you about the two-state solution. Is it politically dead in Israel, regardless of who becomes prime minister? The only way to save Palestinian statehood and what they call two-state solution is to remove illegal Israeli settlements from the West Bank, which are now more than 560. Netanyahu has made every possible effort, and his government, to create as many settlements to kill the idea of a Palestinian state. In my opinion... Maybe they have already killed the idea of two-state solution because of the lack of response from international community which should have imposed sanctions on Israel to stop this terrible attack on the possibility of peace and justice. But if a two-state solution is killed, what is the solution? For these extreme Israeli parties who reject two-state solution and reject one democratic state solution, the only solution for them is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. But we are not leaving. We are here. We're going to stay. We will resist and try to stay in every possible way. And that's why, in my opinion, the only alternative that is really possible and that really brings the minimum of justice is one democratic state where everybody has equal rights and equal duties. This is.