JERUSALEM — Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi said Arab parties could help block Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power after the next election without formally joining a new government, telling Al-Monitor that a unified Arab electoral list could significantly weaken Israel’s right-wing bloc.

Interviewed at the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, Tibi said Netanyahu had managed to drag Trump into a “crazy war with Iran,” while also placing him in “a difficult catch-22 situation.” Trump and Netanyahu might have expected regime change when they attacked Iran on Feb. 28, but that did not happen. On the contrary, Trump is now faced with an obstinate Tehran that refuses to accept his demands for a compromise agreement to end the war, he explained.

The interview took place amid Netanyahu’s efforts to set a date for Israel’s next general elections, which must be held no later than the end of October. Former prime ministers and opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid decided last month to merge their parties and run on a joint ticket under the name “Together,” hoping to defeat Netanyahu. Bennett and Lapid have both declared that, if they are tasked with forming the next government, they will not invite the Arab parties to participate.

Against that backdrop, Tibi — together with the leaders of Israel’s three other Arab parties — has been working to establish a joint electoral list ahead of the vote. Arabs make up 21% of Israel’s population. Ten Arabs are currently serving as Knesset members: five represent the joint Ta’al-Hadash party, and five represent the joint Ra’am-Balad alliance. The heads of Ta’al, Hadash, Ra’am and Balad signed a declaration Feb. 22 committing to pursuing such a merger, although the process has not yet been finalized.