Record voter turnout among Israel’s Arab population has nearly doubled the parliamentary representation of Arab-led parties, potentially giving them a decisive role in forming the country’s next government as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot struggle to secure a majority.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Arab political parties emerged as potential power brokers following Tuesday’s national election, with voter turnout approaching 80% in Arab communities and preliminary results indicating that the parties will control a record 19 seats in the country’s 120-member parliament.
The Oct. 27 election left neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing bloc nor the opposition coalition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot with the 61 seats required to form a government, creating an opportunity for Arab lawmakers to influence the country’s next political leadership.
According to Ynet News, the Joint List and Ra’am, the two major Arab-led political factions, are projected to secure a combined 19 seats, nearly doubling their representation in the outgoing Knesset.
The Joint List is projected to receive 12 seats, while Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, is expected to win seven.
Preliminary election figures indicated that Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious coalition would receive approximately 53 seats, compared with 48 seats for the opposition bloc associated with Eisenkot. The remaining 19 seats would belong to the Arab-led parties.
The results remain subject to final certification.
The strong performance represents a significant increase from the outgoing Knesset, where the Joint List and Ra’am held five seats each.
Arab parties previously reached a combined high of 15 seats in the 2020 election, when several factions competed together.
The latest results would surpass that record, reflecting unusually high political participation among Arab citizens, who account for approximately one-fifth of Israel’s population.
Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen described the outcome as a turning point for Arab political representation.
“We have proven that we are a political force that cannot be ignored, and that no future can be built here without our voice,” Jabareen said.
The Joint List announced Wednesday that it would consider supporting an alternative government led by Eisenkot, even without formally joining the governing coalition.
“The Joint List will do everything in its power to bring an end to Netanyahu’s rule,” the party said in a statement.
“We are prepared for political cooperation to establish an alternative government that will present a genuine alternative and commit to a fundamental change in the racist policies of the current government.”
The party’s willingness to provide external parliamentary support could offer Eisenkot a potential route to replacing Netanyahu without granting Arab lawmakers cabinet positions.
However, several parties aligned with Eisenkot have previously rejected the possibility of depending on Arab political support.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beytenu, ruled out governing arrangements involving Arab parties during the election campaign.
Eisenkot has also established conditions for potential coalition partners, including recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and identifying Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be dismantled.
Those requirements could complicate negotiations with the Joint List, whose constituent parties have opposed certain definitions of Israel’s national identity and criticized Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Nevertheless, Joint List lawmaker Ahmad Tibi said his party would consider helping establish a minority government from outside the coalition.
Tibi emphasized that the party was not demanding cabinet appointments but wanted commitments addressing issues affecting Arab communities.
Those priorities include reducing violent crime, increasing public investment and ending home demolitions in Bedouin communities.
According to The Times of Israel, Tibi said he had received communications from individuals connected with the opposition but had not yet been contacted directly by Eisenkot.
He urged the opposition leader and his political partners to “show courage” in considering cooperation with Arab lawmakers.
Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas has taken a different approach, indicating that his party would be willing to join a governing coalition directly.
Abbas previously participated in the coalition led by Bennett and Yair Lapid from 2021 to 2022, marking the first time an independent Arab party became a formal member of an Israeli governing coalition.
That government approved substantial funding for Arab communities, including investments in infrastructure, housing and efforts to combat organized crime.
Abbas has emphasized practical issues affecting Arab citizens, including public safety, economic opportunities and municipal services.
Following Tuesday’s election, he suggested that representatives from both major political blocs had contacted his party.
“Everyone is speaking with us, not just from the ‘change bloc,'” Abbas told Israel’s Channel 12.
He also attributed the increase in Arab voter participation to dissatisfaction with Netanyahu’s government, particularly the policies of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“The unprecedented electoral achievement is entirely thanks to Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and the entire government, which neglected Arab society in Israel,” Abbas said in an interview with i24NEWS.
Arab political leaders have repeatedly criticized the government’s handling of violent crime in their communities, housing restrictions and demolition policies.
They have also raised objections to government rhetoric and measures they consider discriminatory.
The unusually high turnout followed an election campaign in which Arab leaders urged voters to participate as a means of increasing their representation and challenging the governing coalition.
According to Reuters, voter participation in Arab communities approached 80%, considerably higher than in recent elections.
The increased participation appears to have contributed to Netanyahu’s coalition falling short of the parliamentary majority needed to govern independently.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, meanwhile, has challenged aspects of the Arab vote, alleging irregularities in certain polling locations.
The Joint List rejected those allegations, maintaining that the election was conducted properly.
“There were no violations in the election, and Likud’s accusations are the words of sore losers,” Jabareen said.
No verified finding establishing widespread irregularities in the Arab vote had been reported as of Thursday.
The election results present competing options for Israel’s political leadership.
Netanyahu could attempt to persuade members of the opposition to join his coalition, negotiate a broader unity government or remain in a caretaker role while coalition discussions continue.
Eisenkot could pursue a governing arrangement involving Arab lawmakers, either through formal coalition participation or external parliamentary support.
Another possibility is that negotiations fail, potentially requiring another national election.
President Isaac Herzog is responsible for consulting political parties and selecting a lawmaker to attempt to form a government after the election results are finalized.
The person selected must assemble sufficient parliamentary support to secure the Knesset’s confidence.
Israel has previously experienced prolonged periods of political deadlock, including four national elections between 2019 and 2021.
The current negotiations are also expected to involve disputes over military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, an issue that has divided Netanyahu’s religious allies and the opposition.
For Arab lawmakers, the election has created an opportunity to press for government commitments on public safety, housing, equal treatment and economic development.
For the larger political blocs, the results create a question over whether parties that rejected cooperation with Arab representatives during the campaign will reconsider those positions to form a government.
With neither major bloc holding a majority, the projected 19 seats controlled by Arab-led parties could become central to determining whether Netanyahu remains prime minister or a new governing coalition takes office.
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