The strong gains by Palestinian parties in Israel’s general election present an urgent and fundamental challenge to the country’s mainstream opposition: either work with Arab Israelis or hand Benjamin Netanyahu a path to political survival. After Tuesday’s exit polls, opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot called the results a victory for “Israel’s Zionist national majority,” but the real outcome appears far more complex. The biggest change between the new Knesset and the old will be the sharply increased representation of Palestinian parties, projected to win 17 to 18 seats, up from 10. That redraws the battle lines in Israeli politics. Arab Israelis will no longer be so easily sidelined and ignored. Coalition talks loom as Israel exit polls suggest Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs tied. Read more. The exit polls placed Eisenkot’s opposition bloc and Netanyahu’s governing coalition tied. Though the prime minister’s Likud party could still be the strongest single party, neither side has enough to reach 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament for a majority. If confirmed by actual results, that would give Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, discretion over whom he asks first to try to form a government. If one candidate cannot succeed within six weeks, the challenge passes to the next option. It could be an extremely long process, and throughout that time Netanyahu’s coalition would remain in a caretaker role. Eisenkot could argue he has a chance of negotiating his way to a Knesset majority. To do so, however, he and his partners in the “change” bloc would be obliged to sit down with the Palestinian groupings, the Joint List and Ra’am (an acronym for the United Arab List). They would probably find Ra’am and its leader, Mansour Abbas, easier to talk to. Abbas has already participated in a right-leaning government led by Naftali Bennett, now a junior partner in the Eisenkot bloc. Abbas has a Jewish Zionist deputy, has shown willingness to make political compromises, and stated emphatically on Tuesday that his priority is to “bring down Benjamin Netanyahu, [Bezalel] Smotrich, and [Itamar] Ben-Gvir in this election.” However, most estimates based on the exit polls show Ra’am as the smaller of the two Palestinian groupings, with seven projected seats in the new Knesset, and it is not clear that would be enough, even if a pact was made with the consent of the other members of Eisenkot’s bloc, to produce a majority government. 1:49 Israeli candidates cast their votes in consequential election – video. Negotiations with the Joint List, with 11 or more projected seats, would be tougher. Eisenkot has laid down four conditions: recognise Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, accept the values expressed in Israel’s declaration of independence, accept conscription for Palestinian Israeli citizens, who are exempt, and denounce Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Speaking on Tuesday as the votes were being counted, Amjad Shbita, the general secretary of Hadash, the socialist party that is the biggest faction in the Joint List, said Eisenkot would be in no position to impose terms for coalition talks. “Laying down conditions won’t work with the Joint List,” Shbita said. “We will negotiate as equals because we need each other.” In the absence of an agreement with one or both of the Palestinian groupings, it is possible that Eisenkot could try to govern as a minority government, with informal vote-by-vote agreements that would keep the new coalition afloat. Is this the end for Benjamin Netanyahu? – podcast. Read more. It would be an unstable solution, making another election more than likely. That would provide Netanyahu the opportunity to rally support among conservative Israeli Jews and claim to have been vindicated in his campaign slogan, “the Right or Palestine,” which rhymes in Hebrew. Netanyahu has looked beaten before over his three decades at or nearAt the top, he staged a comeback each time with the help of his unmatched tactical skills as a dealmaker. No one is ruling out another stunning political escape just yet. But this time, if he does bounce back, he would owe his resurrection to his sworn political enemies for throwing him a lifeline rather than making historic compromises across Israel’s deep racial divide. Speaking from the Joint List victory party in Nazareth in the early hours of Wednesday, one party official said: “The Zionist opposition will have to choose between supremacy and building democracy.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the rise of Palestinian parties in the Knesset and how it may reshape Israels political landscape
1 What are the Palestinian parties in the Knesset
They are political parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel The main ones have included Hadash Raam Balad and Taal often running together on a joint list
2 Why is their rise considered significant
For decades these parties were mostly in the opposition and had little influence Recently they gained more seats and for the first time one of them joined a governing coalition That gives them real say in laws and budgets
3 What is the Joint List
Its an alliance of several Arabmajority parties that ran together in elections to maximize seats It became the thirdlargest bloc in the Knesset in 2020 though it later split
4 How many seats do these parties typically win
Usually around 1015 of the Knessets 120 seats depending on turnout and whether they run jointly or separately
5 What changed in 2021
Raam led by Mansour Abbas broke away from the Joint List and joined the coalition government This was the first time an Arab party backed an Israeli government trading support for funding and policies benefiting Arab communities
6 Why did Raam decide to join a coalition
Its leadership argued that working from inside government delivers concrete gainsbudgets for housing policing and local servicesbetter than staying in permanent opposition
7 What are the main benefits of this trend
Arab citizens get more representation and influence over budgets and policy It also signals that Palestinian citizens are engaging more directly in national politics rather than boycotting it
8 What are the common problems or tensions
Theres friction over issues like the Gaza conflict land and planning rights and crime in Arab towns Coalition participation can also split the Arab vote and strain ties with Palestinian leadership outside Israel
9 Why do some Arab voters oppose joining coalitions
Some see it as legitimizing a state structure they view as discriminatory or as compromising on Palestinian national rights Others prefer protest politics over compromise
10 Has turnout among Arab voters changed
Yes Turnout rose when the Joint List united and
