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CNN Indonesia · 2026-10-29
The article says Arab parties in Israel, especially the Joint List and Ra'am, are projected to win around 20 parliamentary seats, potentially making them decisive in determining the prime minister. However, both Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot reject bringing them into a coalition because of ideological and value differences, even though some Arab party leaders have expressed willingness to cooperate to unseat Netanyahu.
The article says Arab parties in Israel, especially the Joint List and Ra'am, are projected to win around 20 parliamentary seats, potentially making them decisive in determining the prime minister. However, both Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot reject bringing them into a coalition because of i…
The Arab party coalition, the Joint List and Ra'am in Israel, is predicted to win 20 parliamentary seats and has the potential to become the kingmaker in determining the prime ministerial seat.
However, the strongest candidates, Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, are instead reluctant to bring them into a coalition.
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So far, 90 percent of the votes have been counted by the Central Elections Committee, and neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the anti-Netanyahu bloc has reached the 61-seat majority out of 120 seats.
The provisional count shows Netanyahu winning 52 seats and the Eisenkot alliance securing 48 seats.
So, why are Netanyahu and Eisenkot rejecting the Arab parties even though they are considered key to determining the prime minister?
Netanyahu and Eisenkot reject the idea of partnering with the Arab parties because of differences in values.
Palestinian political analyst Ahmed Najar believes the two blocs’ reluctance to bring in the Arab parties stems from ideological differences between the parties.
“Eisenkot has imposed a loyalty test on the Arab parties and refuses to depend on them, even though the electoral arithmetic makes their support very necessary,” Najar told Al Jazeera on Wednesday (28/10).
In fact, Eisenkot has a chance to control parliament if he joins the Arab parties and topples Netanyahu, a goal shared by both sides. If they were to join forces, the seats won could reach 66.
Najar even considers a partnership with the Arab parties not only possible but the only “realistic” path for Eisenkot.
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Netanyahu is at odds with the values and vision of the Arab parties. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)
Netanyahu, meanwhile, is at odds with the values and vision of the Arab parties. On various occasions he has also frequently stated that the Arab parties support terrorism and seek to destroy the Jewish state. The Israeli prime minister would certainly choose right-wing or ultra-Orthodox parties rather than Arab parties.
Another expert from the Palthink think tank, Omar Shaban, said that Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas had already signaled a willingness to join Eisenkot if their candidate were elected. However, the party set a condition that internal security issues would be handled by an Arab party.
Abbas has even appointed Jewish Knesset member Yoav Segalovitz to occupy the number two position on Ra'am’s candidate list.
Such collaboration, if realized, could help maintain better relations between Palestinian citizens and Jewish citizens of Israel.
Similarly, Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said he was ready to take responsibility for bringing down Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition.
“The government has made the life of every Arab citizen miserable,” he said.
Another Joint List member, Ahmad Tibi, has also extended a hand to join the opposition to topple Netanyahu.
Democratic party leader Yair Golan, who is part of the anti-Netanyahu camp, urged allies to work together with the Arab parties.
“We can no longer accept Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish votes and Arab votes,” Golan said.
Although the Arab parties have made their willingness very clear, Eisenkot still needs to weigh many considerations. This is because such a partnership faces obstacles, such as more radical elements within Israeli society.
“They do not want the Israeli government to be supported by or dependent on Arab votes,” Shaban said.
Text © CNN Indonesia — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source