Israel Elections: Arab-Parties Win Record Seats, Challenging Netanyahu

Palestinian citizens in Israel cast record numbers of ballots on Tuesday, altering the political calculus in Jerusalem and giving opposition parties new options for challenging the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The high turnout reflects a strategic shift by a marginalized community seeking to counter the country's most right-wing administration through the ballot box rather than by abstaining from the process.

First, the two main Arab-led parties, Raam and the Joint List, won 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset. This surpasses their previous high of 15 seats, achieved in the 2022 elections. According to final results from the Central Election Committee, approximately 840,000 people voted for these formations, marking a 64% increase from the last cycle.

Second, voter participation reached historic highs in specific communities. In Sakhnin, located in the north, turnout hit 87%, the highest rate in Israel. In the Bedouin village of Tarabin in the Negev desert, where Netanyahu's party had won majorities in the two previous elections, Raam received 93% of the votes. Local officials attributed the surge to a desire to combat rising violent crime and political incitement from Netanyahu's ultra-right allies.

Third, the results position these parties as potential coalition partners for the opposition. Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main rival, could rely on their support to form a government, although he has set conditions for any alliance. These requirements include declaring Israel a Jewish and democratic state and labeling Hamas a terrorist organization that must be dismantled. Both Arab-led parties have indicated openness to negotiations but have not yet accepted all of Eisenkot's terms publicly.

Citizens of Palestinian descent have lived in Israel since the 1948 war and currently comprise more than 20% of the population. While they hold full citizenship and voting rights, many feel alienated from the center of power. Raam campaigned on integration and placed a Jewish former police official in the second position on its candidate list to appeal to potential Jewish allies. The Joint List took a harder line, describing the war in Gaza as a genocide and comparing the occupation of the West Bank to South Africa under apartheid.

Netanyahu intensified his anti-Arab rhetoric after the polls closed, warning against the 'Islamization of Israel' if his opponents form a government with Arab-led parties. He also suggested, without providing evidence, that foreign powers bribed voters. These claims echo the concerns of his coalition partners, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who have long advocated for stricter policies regarding the Arab population.