Israeli left-wing opposition leader Yair Golan called on Monday for an immediate end to the Gaza war and said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government no longer represented most Israelis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday the government of Israel doesn\u2019t represent the vast majority of Israelis,\u201d said Golan, chairman of the Democrats party and a former deputy army chief, days before a planned parliament vote which the opposition hopes would trigger a general election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told journalists in a briefing that after more than 20 months of fighting that Israel \u201cshould end the war as soon as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Golan\u2019s party, a conglomeration of left-wing factions, has only four seats in Israel\u2019s 120-member legislature. But in a country where coalition building is essential to achieving a political majority, even relatively small parties can wield considerable power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Golan said that the current government \u2014 one of the most right-wing in Israel\u2019s history \u2014 was a threat to democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that the vast majority of Israelis wanted to see an immediate end to the war<\/a> in Gaza, the return of all prisoners held by the Palestinians in a single exchange deal, and the establishment of a national commission of inquiry into Hamas\u2019s 2023 attack<\/a>, arguing that the Netanyahu government was opposed to these objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He expressed the hope that a deal on the release of prisoners could be reached in a matter of days. \u201cThe vast majority wants new elections as soon as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n