Israel's Arab parties win 19 seats, positioning them as potential coalition partners
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The Joint List and Ra’am secured a combined 19 seats in the recent election, with Arab voter turnout reaching 80%, surpassing the national average.
Israel's two Arab parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, together won 19 seats in the October 27 parliamentary election, giving them significant influence in coalition negotiations. Their increased representation follows a marked rise in Arab voter participation, which reached 80% compared with the overall turnout of 77%.
Turnout was especially high in several Arab-majority localities. In Sakhnin, voter participation climbed to 83.5% from 68.4% in the previous election; in Kafr Qassem, it rose to 81.3% from 66.8%; and in the Bedouin town of Rahat, turnout increased to 79.8% from 66.6%.
Political analysts note that the parties could use their parliamentary weight to shape the formation of a new governing coalition and potentially influence the tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.