Netanyahu's Bloc Loses Majority as Arab Parties Gain 19 Knesset Seats

Israeli voters rejected the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the recent election, a shift driven largely by high participation among the country's Palestinian citizens.

Arab-led parties secured 19 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, according to the Central Elections Committee. This result prevents Netanyahu's right-wing bloc from retaining power and leaves neither his side nor the center-right opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot with the 61 seats required to form a stable government.

The surge in voting reflects a reversal of recent trends where many Palestinian citizens abstained from elections. Jamal Zahalka, chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee, stated that the community's turnout blocked the continuation of Netanyahu's government. He described the outcome as a historical achievement for the community.

Arab-led parties saw a 64 percent increase in votes compared to the previous election cycle. The Joint List alliance, which includes several major Palestinian parties, captured 11 of the 19 seats won by Arab-led groups. Ra'am, a socially conservative Islamist party, took the remaining seats in this bloc. The high turnout has intensified debate in Israel regarding the role of its Palestinian minority, which constitutes approximately 20 percent of the population.

Netanyahu and his allies reacted swiftly to the results, with the Likud party alleging that Arab parties used bribery and threats to influence the vote. Police and election officials have since found no widespread fraud, and the head of the elections committee declared the vote was conducted properly. Despite these findings, Netanyahu called the turnout an emergency on social media, while national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged voters in the Palestinian-majority town of Kufr Qasim to vote to preserve the country's Jewish character.

Eisenkot now faces the difficult task of forming a coalition. His center-right grouping requires the support of Arab-led parties to reach a majority. However, his relationship with the Palestinian community is complicated by his history as a former military chief of staff and his role in formulating the Dahiyeh doctrine, which advocated for disproportionate force against areas from which militants fire. His son was also killed in Gaza during the ongoing war.

The Joint List leaders have indicated they will not formally join Eisenkot's government but may support it from the outside. They cited the ongoing war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank as reasons for refusing a direct partnership. President Isaac Herzog is currently consulting with parties and is expected to announce which candidate will receive a mandate to form a government next week. The designated leader will have 28 days to build a coalition, with the option of a two-week extension.

If no government is formed, a second candidate will have 28 days without an extension to attempt the task. Failure to form a government within these deadlines will trigger repeat elections next year. In Kufr Qasim, residents continue to commemorate the 1956 killings by Israeli border police, linking that history to current political struggles. Mansour Shaaban, 33, who voted for the first time in this election, said the community has found its voice and intends to continue participating to oppose the extreme right.