Arab bloc poised for record 18 seats as Israeli turnout tops 77 percent

Arabs-led parties in Israel are projected to secure 18 seats in the Knesset, a record high, as turnout among Palestinian citizens surged to its highest level since 1999. The surge in participation complicates the path to forming a new government, with the opposition bloc and the ruling Likud faction currently tied.

Exit polls from Tuesday's vote indicate that the Joint List and Ra'am, the two primary Arab-led parties, will hold the most seats for such groups in history. The opposition camp, led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, is tied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud bloc at 51 seats each in the 120-member parliament.

The Central Elections Committee reported that overall voter turnout reached 77.7 percent, the highest figure since 1999. Channel 12 reported that participation among Palestinian citizens of Israel, who comprise about 21 percent of the country's 10 million residents, hit approximately 80 percent. This figure surpasses the previous record set in 1999 and marks a notable increase from historical voting rates for this demographic.

Mansour Abbas, leader of Ra'am, stated that the current numbers suggest neither bloc can form a government alone. He told Channel 12, "With the numbers we have now, there is no government," noting that both major factions have sought his party's support. Ra'am currently holds five seats and was part of the governing coalition from 2021 to 2022.

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, observed that forming a coalition will be difficult for parties that pledged not to partner with Arab lists. He noted that Arab-led parties will likely make demands that Jewish-led coalitions may resist, creating a political cost for leaders who previously kept them out of government.

Netanyahu's camp made final efforts to mobilize supporters on Tuesday, citing the high Arab turnout. Likud vehicles in Jerusalem played the Islamic call to prayer over loudspeakers to urge Jewish voters to the polls. Netanyahu shared images of long lines at polling stations in Arab communities on social media, warning that the opposition could form a government with leaders Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi.

More than 100 laws have been passed in the Knesset that affect Palestinian citizens of Israel, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh. Odeh described the high turnout as an existential moment for this community, with voters who typically boycott elections participating to address systemic discrimination and state funding disparities.