Supporters of Joint List party celebrate after the exit polls announcement following the closing of poll stations for the Israeli general election, at the Joint List headquarters in Nasserah, Israel on 27 October 2026. [Getty]
The first exit polls from Israel’s pivotal general election on Tuesday showed strong gains for the country’s Arab parties, whose voter base turned out in high numbers.
Exit polls from the main Israeli television channels showed the two Arab lists winning around 20 seats in the 120-member parliament between them, up from 10 in the last election in 2022.
As more than 60% of the count has been done, the Netanyahu-led bloc holds 56 seats, about five seats shy for 61—the threshold for a majority.
In response to these gains by the Arab parties, Yair Golan, the head of Israel’s main but very tiny left-wing party, called on Wednesday for his opposition allies to work with Arab parties to unseat current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as partial election results showed their support would be crucial to reaching a governing coalition.
“We must no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes,” he said on X. “We have a responsibility. And we have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with Israel’s Arab citizens.”
The history gains by the Arab parties occurs despite scaremongering by Netanyahu and other extreme right-wing politicians.
Netanyahu remained defiant early Wednesday as he seeks to remain the country’s longest-serving prime minister. He dismissed the idea of a partnership with Arab parties—whose constituents make up 20% of Israel’s population—as treasonous.
“We must establish a strong, right-wing, nationalist government,” Netanyahu said. “We must not endanger Israel and establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties.”