Palestinian voters held 19 Knesset seats, forcing a political crisis in Israel

Nineteen seats in the Israeli Knesset now belong to two parties composed entirely of Palestinian citizens, a result that directly prevented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from securing a governing majority. In the October 27 elections, approximately 80 percent of Palestinian citizens cast ballots, a level of participation that shifted the balance of power in the 120-member legislature.

Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, while the Jewish-led opposition secured 48. The remaining seats were held by the two Arab parties, which supported peace, equality, and an end to the occupation. This specific distribution of power means that neither the pro-Netanyahu camp nor the opposition can form a stable government without the support of these two lists, creating a new dynamic in Israeli politics.

The immediate reaction from Netanyahu’s supporters has been to frame this electoral success as an anomaly. Members of the pro-Netanyahu camp have alleged the election was stolen and are calling for restrictions on the Arab vote. Former Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Feiglin described the mobilization as the October 7 of Israeli politics. Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son, labeled Palestinian citizens the greatest danger to the state’s survival, second only to the Iranian nuclear threat.

This political pressure follows a period of intensified scrutiny on Palestinian communities. An analysis by the media outlet Arabic Post reviewed more than 10,000 election-related social media posts and found that 40 percent of posts by candidates from Netanyahu’s camp concerned Arabs or Palestinians, with 94 percent of those taking a hostile tone. Police also raided the homes of three Ra’am activists in the Negev on suspicion of electoral bribery. The men were released after warrants were questioned, but the raids fueled a narrative of suspicion.

The path to coalition building remains difficult due to longstanding exclusions. In April 2021, Bezalel Smotrich rejected a government proposal that included the Ra’am party, arguing it would encourage higher Palestinian turnout. When Ra’am later joined the Bennett-Lapid coalition, it recognized Israel as a Jewish state and set aside national demands to focus on civil and socioeconomic issues. That government collapsed after two members resigned over the inclusion of Palestinian representatives.

A July survey by the Israel Democracy Institute found that only 46 percent of respondents in the right-wing Jewish camp supported the right of Palestinian citizens to vote. The opposition now demands that Palestinian parties recognize Israel as an exclusively Jewish state, label Hamas a terrorist organization, and accept compulsory national service to join a government. These conditions represent a significant shift in the political requirements for coalition partners.