Arab parties are projected to secure 18 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, potentially giving them an important role in government formation as Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc fell short of the 61 seats required for a majority, with nearly 90 percent of votes counted.
Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc was projected to win 53 seats, while the opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot was expected to secure 48, leaving both sides short of the numbers needed to form a government on their own.
The Israeli Central Elections Committee said that it had counted more than five million votes on Wednesday. The Joint List and Ra’am, the two Arab parties, were projected to win a combined 19 seats.
The remaining votes could still affect the distribution of seats. More than 500,000 special double-envelope ballots, including votes cast by soldiers, diplomats and people voting away from their registered polling stations, remained to be counted.
Final results could arrive as early as Thursday evening.
The seat count leaves the main political blocs needing additional support to reach a parliamentary majority. However, the role of Arab parties in any government arrangement remains uncertain. Before the election, Eisenkot ruled out forming a minority government with Arab-led parties, while Netanyahu also rejected such a possibility.
The election was widely viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu’s premiership and marked the first Israeli vote since the October 7, 2023 attacks and the genocide in Gaza.
Netanyahu will remain caretaker prime minister until a new government takes office. President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders about forming an administration next week, after officials release the final results. Herzog has urged parties to avoid another election that could delay government formation.
Netanyahu’s Likud party accused Arab parties of election theft amid record turnout among Arab voters. In a statement, Likud alleged bribery, threats, violence, forgery and the use of prohibited software to mobilise voters.
The party stated it was submitting hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence to the police, Shin Bet and the Central Elections Committee.
The Joint List said that preliminary figures showed Arab voter turnout played a decisive role in keeping Netanyahu and his coalition short of a parliamentary majority. It cautioned that the final results had not yet been announced.
The alliance said that voters had rejected what it called a “government of butchers” and its policies on home demolitions, racism and war crimes. It also pledged to work towards removing Netanyahu’s government and preventing its return.
Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen stated that the alliance could support an anti-Netanyahu government from outside but would not join it. Analysts have also suggested Netanyahu could seek a unity government involving Eisenkot, although no such arrangement has been confirmed.
