Israel election: Israeli exit polls suggest no clear winner, with Eisenkot bloc ahead of Netanyahu
Arab-majority parties could win record number of seatspublished at 22:08 GMT
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
Reports suggest that strong turnout among Israeli Arab voters has translated into electoral success, with the two Arab-majority parties (the United Arab List – or Ra’am – and the Joint List, an alliance of three smaller parties) expected to win up to 19 seats between them (which would be a record).
Major parties in Israel have historically been extremely reluctant to include Arab parties in their coalitions, but with the gap between the two main voting blocs expected to be narrow, Arab-majority parties will be difficult for Eisenkot and Netanyahu to ignore.
In recent Israeli elections, Arab turnout has generally been lower than Jewish turnout. But this time, the desire to see Netanyahu behind him appears to have driven large numbers of Arabs to the polls. Netanyahu, clearly aware of this danger, spent much of election day warning against attempts by Arab voters to “steal the election.”
So far, Eisenkot has said Arab parties do not meet his conditions for joining a coalition. The mathematics of the new Knesset may force it to reconsider, either relying on their informal support in the event of a minority government or bringing in Ra’am as a formal coalition partner.
After the 2021 elections, Raam was part of a coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. It lasted a year before it collapsed.
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