Arab-led blocs win record 19 seats in Israeli parliament

Palestinian citizens of Israel delivered a decisive political result on Tuesday, sending two Arab-led parties into the Knesset with the largest seat share in the country's history. The Central Election Committee reported that more than 800,000 people voted for Ra'am and the Joint List, a coalition of three parties. This figure represents a jump of over 60% compared with the 2022 elections.

The two blocs secured 19 seats in the 120-member parliament, breaking the previous high mark of 15. Mansour Abbas, the leader of Ra'am, addressed cheering supporters in a wedding hall in Sakhnin on Tuesday night. "We are here and we are not on the margins," he said, marking a shift from previous election cycles where many Arab citizens abstained from voting.

Turnout was particularly high in communities that had previously favored Netanyahu's party. In Tarabin, a Bedouin village in the Negev desert, participation nearly doubled. Ra'am captured 93% of the vote there, reversing the majorities Netanyahu's allies had won in the two prior elections. Mazen Ghnaim, the mayor of Sakhnin, said the surge was an emergency measure to combat violent crime and political incitement. "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 stated.

Voters and candidates described the high turnout as a reaction to the governing coalition's rhetoric rather than a display of confidence in the democratic system. Itamar Ben Gvir, the National Security Minister, warned supporters on election day that they must vote to keep the country Jewish and Zionist. Bezalel Smotrich and Netanyahu echoed these themes. Awni Zoabi, a 52-year-old voter in Nazareth, said the community sought a future for its children. "We see that the government is getting worse," Zoabi said.

The victory positions the Arab-led blocs as a critical factor in the post-election coalition talks. Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main rival, has stated that his opposition camp could form a government with their support. However, Eisenkot has set conditions, including a declaration that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state and a labeling of Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be dismantled. Both Ra'am and the Joint List have expressed openness to any option that removes Netanyahu from power.

Tamar Hermann, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, noted that Israel has been moving toward an ethnic democracy where one ethnic group holds advantages over others. She said this shift complicates Eisenkot's ability to maintain support if he partners with these parties. The last time an Arab-led party joined a government was in 2021, when Ra'am entered a short-lived coalition in exchange for investments in Arab communities and legal status for unrecognized Bedouin villages.

Yousef Jabareen, the leader of the Joint List, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he had not yet spoken with Eisenkot but was ready for conversations. He said the parties hoped for protection, equality, and a reactivation of the peace process. Abbas, meanwhile, expressed confidence that Ra'am would join a future government. The parties now wait to see if the opposition can bridge the gap between these demands and the right-wing base that pushed Netanyahu to the forefront of Israeli politics.

The demographic weight of the voters is substantial. Palestinians who remained in Israel after the 1948 war, along with their descendants, make up more than 20% of the population. They hold full citizenship and voting rights, though they often feel marginalized in national institutions. The 19 seats won on Tuesday give them a numerical leverage in the Knesset that has not been seen since the state's founding.