00:00Israel has voted, but the political deadlock continues.
00:03Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for survival,
00:06his opponents are struggling to form an alternative government,
00:09and Arab parties have emerged as potential king-mators
00:13after historic electoral gains.
00:15But will any of this make a difference for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank?
00:20Or is Israel's political establishment fundamentally united
00:24in rejecting their aspirations for statehood?
00:27Let's bring in Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
00:33Good morning and thank you for joining us.
00:36Good morning to you.
00:38So, Dr. Barghouti, Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his parliamentary majority,
00:41but he's far from politically finished.
00:44From a Palestinian perspective, is this election a victory,
00:48a disappointment, or simply more of the same?
00:53No, unfortunately, it's a combination.
00:56First of all, the fact that Netanyahu's bloc has lost is important.
01:02Second, the unfortunate thing is that all Zionist parties in Israel,
01:07whether in government with Netanyahu or in opposition to Netanyahu,
01:12all share the same views of rejecting Palestinian rights,
01:16including rejecting a Palestinian state,
01:19rejecting the right of the Palestinians to have self-determination,
01:23rejecting the idea of ending the Israeli illegal occupation.
01:28And most importantly, all these parties support the continuation of illegal settlement activities,
01:34which are destroying any potential for peace.
01:38That is the problem.
01:39And they all are supportive of continuing the genocidal war on Gaza.
01:44On the other hand, none of these two blocs can form a government
01:47without the third factor in these elections,
01:50which is the very big rise of the number of seats that Palestinian Arabs in Israel hold,
01:5619 seats.
01:57They are the decision maker in this case.
02:00And I hope this will have an impact on removing,
02:03at least, the most fascist ministers in the Israeli government,
02:07like Motrich and Bingvir,
02:09who have been responsible for terrible attacks,
02:12including ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.
02:15Let me follow up on this.
02:17Gadi Eisenkot could replace Netanyahu,
02:19but he's a former Israeli military chief.
02:22Would a government led by Eisenkot really be any better for Palestinians?
02:27It would be better if they remove these fascist ministers like Motrich and Bingvir,
02:32and if they have the sufficient courage to rely on the votes of the Arab members of the Knesset
02:40who are ready to provide this support so that a change can make
02:44and end this whole era of Netanyahu's administration.
02:48Netanyahu has been responsible not only for slaughtering Palestinians in Gaza
02:53and for enhancing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank,
02:57but he has been responsible for creating wars with Lebanon, with Syria, threatening Jordan,
03:03and trying to impose Israel as an imperial force controlling the Middle East.
03:08Removing Netanyahu is the most important thing today.
03:11So if Eisenkot have the courage, he can do it.
03:16On that note, Arab parties have made historic electoral gains
03:20and could now hold the balance of power.
03:22Or isn't that an extraordinary opportunity for Palestinians to influence Israeli politics?
03:28Yes, and it shows you that the Palestinians,
03:31many of whom have been passive and worried and afraid
03:35because of oppression they are subjected to
03:38and because of the terrible racism in Israel,
03:41where they speak about Israel as a Jewish-only state,
03:44ignoring the rights of the 20% of the population,
03:48now they are not passive, they are active.
03:50Now they believe in themselves.
03:52They believe that they have strength and they have the power to demand their rights.
03:56And that's an important addition to the overall Palestinian struggle,
04:00whether in the occupied Palestinian territories
04:02or among Palestinian refugees in the diaspora,
04:05or now inside Israel.
04:06I think this is a very positive factor.
04:09And it shows that the Palestinian community inside Israel
04:12will defend its rights and defend itself
04:15in democratic means, of course.
04:18But the most horrible thing is when you see Israeli parties,
04:22whether in governments or in opposition,
04:24using racist terms like the votes of the Arabs should not count
04:29and they should not have a right to have a power inside the Knesset.
04:33That is absolute racism.
04:35And it brings back the main question,
04:37how could Israel claim to be a democracy
04:39when it is practicing apartheid against another nation?
04:43And how can Israel be a Jewish-only state
04:46when 20% of its population are Palestinian Arabs?
04:50Let me ask you about the two-state solution.
04:53Is it politically dead in Israel,
04:55regardless of who becomes prime minister?
04:58The only way to save Palestinian statehood
05:01and what they call two-state solution
05:04is to remove illegal Israeli settlements from the West Bank,
05:07which are now more than 560.
05:10Netanyahu has made every possible effort,
05:12and his government,
05:13to create as many settlements
05:15to kill the idea of a Palestinian state.
05:18In my opinion,
05:20maybe they have already killed the idea of two-state solution
05:23because of the lack of response from international community,
05:26which should have imposed sanctions on Israel
05:29to stop this terrible attack
05:31on the possibility of peace and justice.
05:34But if a two-state solution is killed,
05:36what is the solution?
05:38For these extreme Israeli parties
05:40who reject two-state solution
05:42and reject one democratic state solution,
05:45the only solution for them
05:46is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
05:48But we are not leaving.
05:49We are here.
05:50We are going to stay.
05:51We will resist and try to stay in every possible way.
05:54And that's why, in my opinion,
05:56the only alternative that is really possible
05:59and that really brings the minimum of justice
06:02is one democratic state
06:03where everybody has equal rights and equal duties.
