According to post-vote polls, the Joint List and the United Arab List - Raam, both with an Arab majority, are expected to obtain between 16 and 18 seats in the Knesset, nearly doubling their current representation, according to the German newspaper Tagesspiegel. The newspaper adds that this progress is of particular importance because neither of the two competing camps, neither the religious right camp led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party, nor the opposition coalition led by center-right politician Gadi Eisenkot, currently has the required majority of 61 seats out of the 120 total seats in the Knesset. This means, according to Tagesspiegel, that reaching this majority may require cooperation with the Arab camp, which may give it the role of “kingmaker.”
Two Arab lists are competing in the elections: the “Joint List,” an alliance that includes liberal parties, and “Ra’am,” an Islamic party. More than 80% of Israeli Arabs vote for one of these two lists, while about 15% of them give their votes to Jewish parties, according to a report by the correspondent of the Austrian newspaper “Der Standard” in Haifa.
Between rejection and the call for partnership
Netanyahu categorically rejects the idea of relying on Arab parties to form the government, according to Tagesspiegel. As for his most prominent competitor, Gadi Eisenkot, he did not rule out in principle the formation of a minority government with the support of the Arab parties, provided that they accept his conditions, most notably the recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, as Der Standard states.
The Austrian newspaper explains that “Raam” fulfills this condition, while the matter seems more complicated for the “Joint List,” the liberal alliance that includes three parties that are predominantly Arab.
The Tagesspiegel report states that Eisenkot, who tried to avoid announcing a clear position, ultimately followed Netanyahu's example under pressure from public opinion during the election campaign. A few days ago, in response to a question from the audience at an election rally, he confirmed that “there will be no Arab party in the next government.” But this position, according to the newspaper, may leave the door open for a minority government that enjoys the support of Arab parties from outside it.
Even this option faces opposition within Eisenkot's camp itself, as Tagesspiegel notes that Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the secular, nationalist "Israel Beytenu" party, has ruled out any cooperation with Arab parties. Cooperation with Raam alone will require that two partners in Eisenkot's coalition rescind their electoral promise to exclude Arabs, according to Der Standard.
On the other hand, support came from the head of the “Democrats” party, Yair Golan, who wrote on the “X” platform, as reported by “Tagesspiegel”: “We have no future here if we do not stop being afraid, and if we do not put an end to racism. We can no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist distinction between Jewish and Arab votes.” He added that there is now an opportunity to form a "government of change" in cooperation with the Arab citizens of Israel, considering that anyone who tries to ignore the voices of Arab citizens "surrenders to Netanyahu and abandons Israel."
Tagesspiegel recalled that while Eisenkot did not comment on this dilemma on election night, Netanyahu reiterated his position in a sharp tone, saying in Jerusalem: “It is not permissible for us to form a government based on anti-Zionist Arab parties.” He accused the Arab parties of opposing Israel's existence, of describing Hamas as a charitable organization, and of distorting the image of Israeli soldiers as war criminals. The newspaper believes that if his camp does not ultimately obtain a majority, he will have no choice but to win over representatives from the Eisenkot camp.
It is noteworthy that the Hamas movement is an armed Palestinian Islamic group, classified in Germany, the European Union, the United States and other countries as a terrorist organization.
Potential intermediaries
The Arab parties clearly differ from the Jewish parties in their position on the Israeli state and on the Palestinian issue, writes Tagesspiegel. The newspaper believes that one of the figures who may play a role in building bridges is the Israeli politician Yoav Segalowitz, the former Deputy Minister of Internal Security, who in August of this year became the first Jewish politician to join the “Ra’am” party, and ran in second place on its electoral list.
“This is the real Israeli message,” he told The Times of Israel. Segalowitz added that "the prime minister-designate, and I don't know who he will be," will have to take this result into account, including about 17 seats that exit polls gave to the Arab parties combined.
Despite this, Israeli political researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov remains skeptical. She wrote on the X platform on election night, according to Tagesspiegel, that the opposition would not be able to form a government with the support of Arab parties unless it succeeded in “transcending its racism.”
precedent in ruling
This will not be the first time that an Arab power participates in governance, as Der Standard states. In 2021, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, through what was called the “Change Bloc,” brought about a political transformation that excluded Netanyahu into the ranks of the opposition, and this was not possible at that time except by including “Ra’am” led by Mansour Abbas. Tagesspiegel notes that “Ra’am” then became the first independent Arab party to join a government coalition in Israel, and that its participation in Bennett’s government was considered a historic step towards the political integration of the Arab minority, which constitutes about 20% of Israel’s population, before the coalition later collapsed due to disagreements.
According to "Der Standard", Bennett praised Abbas after the end of that government in the highest terms, describing him as a "courageous leadership figure." But Bennett, who today heads the “Together” (BiYhad) list, now confirms that he will cooperate “except with the Jewish parties.” The newspaper comments that these qualities seem to be no longer sufficient, as Bennett says: “After October 7, a lot changed.”
Openness of Arab lists to cooperation
For his part, Raam head Mansour Abbas, known for his pragmatic approach, expressed his readiness for dialogue, expressing in an interview with the N12 channel his hope that Eisenkot's camp and his party together would be able to form a majority, according to Tagesspiegel.
The newspaper quoted Abbas as saying on Tuesday evening that the high voter turnout showed that “frustration and despair within Arab society have turned into hope,” adding that the Netanyahu government had mistreated Arab citizens, and that Arab society had responded to that.
