Arab-majority parties could win record number of seatspublished at 22:08 GMT
22:08 GMT
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
Reports suggest that a high turnout among Israeli Arab voters has been translated into electoral success, with the two Arab-majority parties (The United Arab List – or Ra’am – and The Joint List, an alliance of three smaller parties) projected to win as many as 19 seats between them (which would be a record).
The main parties in Israel have traditionally been extremely reluctant to include Arab parties in their coalitions, but with the gap between the two main electoral blocs projected to be narrow, the Arab-majority parties will be hard for Eisenkot and Netanyahu to ignore.
In past Israeli elections, Arab turnout has generally been lower than Jewish turnout. But this time, the desire to see the back of Netanyahu seems to have driven large numbers of Arabs to the polls. Netanyahu, clearly aware of this danger, spent much of election day warning of an effort by Arab voters to “steal the election”.
Until now, Eisenkot has said the Arab parties do not meet his conditions for joining a coalition. The mathematics of the new Knesset may force him to reconsider, either by relying on their informal support in the event of a minority government or by bringing in Ra’am as a formal coalition partner.
After the 2021 elections, Ra’am was part of a coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. It lasted a year before collapsing.