Blue and White leader Benny Gantz met with Ra'am (United Arab List) chairman Mansour Abbas on Tuesday and urged him to support a representative of the "change camp" to form the next government.
Abbas holds the key to deciding who will build the next coalition because his four seats could grant a majority either to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or one of his political opponents.
"The only way to avoid [Netanyahu remaining in power] is forming an honest government without Netanyahu and appointing a Knesset speaker agreed upon by the entire change camp." Gantz wrote on Facebook. "All this must be done quickly, because while we are arguing, Bibi is working."
Gantz warned Abbas and Yamina leader Naftali Bennet that Netanyahu is "using them." He said that it could be possible for Netanyahu to form a government with Bennett and Abbas but they would quickly "become his hostages."
The Gantz-Abbas meeting came following reports that the Blue and White leader had sent an Arab candidate from his party, Ilhan Hazan, to meet with Abbas and urge him to not endorse Yesh Atid Leader Yair Lapid for prime minister.
Blue and White denied this report.