Arab parties win record 18 seats in Israeli election, tightening coalition talks

Israeli Arab parties captured a historic 18 of the 120 Knesset seats in the recent general election, according to preliminary results. The Arab Joint List – a coalition of Hadash, Balad and Ta'al – and the separate Ra'am party led by Mansour Abbas together achieved the record haul, representing about 15% of the parliament.

The Joint List combines left-wing and nationalist groups. Hadash, headed by lawyer Yousef Jabareen, includes Arab and Jewish members and focuses on defending Palestinian rights. Ta'al is led by veteran MK Ahmad Tibi, who advocates a two-state solution and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Balad, under Sami Abu Shehadeh, supports a one-state vision and was recently barred from the ballot by the Supreme Court over alleged extremist views.

Ra'am, a religious Muslim party, ran independently and was on track for four seats. Its leader Mansour Abbas previously served as a minister in a coalition government in 2021.

Political scientist Xavier Abu Eid said the high Arab turnout reflected an “existential” concern about the direction of Israeli politics, noting increased pressure on Palestinian citizens since the October 2023 conflict in Gaza.

"For Palestinian citizens, it's an existential matter. Keeping the far-right in the government is being seen as keeping the prospects for a new Nakba," Abu Eid told The National.

"The amount of incitement against Palestinians went up, persecution against students and professors, doctors and nurses in Israel also went up, so the way they've been living in the past three years shows that the only thing the government wants them to do is leave the country," he added.

Analysts say the Arab bloc is unlikely to join a formal coalition but its performance reduces Netanyahu's chances of securing the 61 seats needed for a majority. Senior fellow Danny Citrinowitz of the Institute for National Security Studies noted that the Arab vote may push Netanyahu toward a unity government that could exclude hard-line figures such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

"The Arabs are not going to be kingmakers, but they still have a huge achievement," Citrinowitz said. "Their turnout prevented Netanyahu from having 61 seats, forcing a possible unity government."

If final, the 18 seats would surpass the previous record of 15 set in 2020 and bring Arab representation in the Knesset closer to the community's share of Israel's population.