Arabs win record Knesset seats but face alliance rejection

Exit polls from Tuesday’s Israeli general election project a record 17 seats for Arab-led parties in the 120-member Knesset.

The Joint List and Raam are expected to hold that combined total. Daniel Shek, a former Israeli ambassador, called the rise of the Arab vote the most important phenomenon of the election. He stated that such a large share of the electorate cannot be disregarded in political calculations.

Partial results currently place Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc at 54 seats and the opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot at 49. A majority requires 61 seats. If Eisenkot’s bloc partnered with the Arab parties, the Times of Israel reported the combination would reach 66 seats.

Both leading blocs have rejected formal partnerships with the Arab lists. They cited a lack of shared values as the primary reason. Honaida Ghanam, director general of the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies in Ramallah, described the veto as rooted in a racist structure that treats Arab citizens as illegitimate partners.

Ahmed Najar, a Palestinian analyst, said Eisenkot imposed loyalty tests on the Arab parties. He argued that Eisenkot ruled out relying on them despite the arithmetic making their support indispensable. Najar claimed this route is the only realistic option to unseat Netanyahu.

Mansour Abbas, leader of Raam, signaled willingness to join an Eisenkot government if his party handles internal security matters. He placed Jewish lawmaker Yoav Segalovitz in the number two spot on Raam’s slate. On Wednesday, Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List, said his party is ready to take responsibility for bringing down Netanyahu’s coalition. Fellow leader Ahmad Tibi said the bloc was extending its hand to the opposition alliance.

Eisenkot said he would consider partnering with any party that recognizes Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The party must also endorse the Declaration of Independence and commit to national service for all Israelis. He has not confirmed whether Raam meets those criteria. He must also persuade Naftali Bennett of the Together alliance and Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beytenu. Bennett, in third place, said he now wants only Zionist parties in government.

Netanyahu told supporters on Tuesday that relying on anti-Zionist Arab parties would be a shame and a disgrace. Ghanam outlined four possible outcomes: a new election, a minority government backed from outside by Arab parties, defections to Netanyahu’s bloc, or a national unity government. She identified the resilience of Netanyahu’s camp as the election’s most telling result.