Arab-led parties win record 19 seats in Israeli parliament

Arab-led political parties won 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset during elections held on Tuesday, October 27, marking the highest representation in the chamber's history. The result grants the two factions, Ra’am and the Joint List, a pivotal role in determining which party can form a governing coalition.

The Central Election Committee reported that more than 800,000 individuals cast ballots for these two groups. This figure represents a 60% increase compared to the 2022 elections. The parties surpassed their previous peak of 15 seats, securing a mandate that opposition leaders view as essential for displacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mansour Abbas, the leader of Ra’am, addressed supporters in a wedding hall in Sakhnin on Tuesday night. "We are here and we are not on the margins," he stated. The party’s performance reflected a shift in voter behavior, as many Arab citizens had previously boycotted national elections.

In the Bedouin village of Tarabin in the Negev, Ra’am received 93% of the votes. Turnout in the area nearly doubled from previous cycles, where Netanyahu’s party had maintained majorities. In Sakhnin, a northern city with a large Arab population, voter participation reached 87%, the highest rate in Israel.

Mazen Ghnaim, the mayor of Sakhnin and a Ra’am supporter, cited rising violent crime and incitement by Netanyahu’s ultranationalist allies as drivers for the surge. "I want to protect my voters from being killed, my children from being attacked at their universities, and Arab doctors from being assaulted in hospitals," Ghnaim said.

The government’s rhetoric intensified during the campaign. Netanyahu accused opponents of planning to govern with Arab-led parties, warning on social media that such a move would lead to the "Islamization of Israel." Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged followers to vote to keep the country "Jewish and Zionist," a stance echoed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Tamar Hermann, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, noted that the political shift makes it harder for opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to maintain support if he allies with these parties. "Israel has been moving away from a liberal democracy and closer to an ethnic democracy in which one ethnicity has advantages over others," Hermann said.

Ra’am and the Joint List have signaled openness to removing Netanyahu from power, including abstaining in the vote to elect the Knesset president to lower the majority threshold Eisenkot needs. However, Eisenkot has publicly set conditions for any alliance. He requires partners to affirm that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state and to declare Hamas a terrorist organization that must be dismantled.

Yousef Jabareen, the leader of the Joint List, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his coalition had not yet agreed on specific conditions but expected protections and equality for Palestinian citizens. "We have promised our community to do everything possible to get rid of this fascist government," Jabareen said.