Palestinian Citizens of Israel Head to Oct. 27 Vote as Turnout Could Sway Government
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 22
Palestinian Citizens of Israel Head to Oct. 27 Vote as Turnout Could Sway Government
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 22
Summary
Oct. 27 elections could give Palestinian citizens of Israel an outsized role in deciding whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is replaced, even as many parties still resist Arab partners in government.
That leverage comes amid deep alienation after Oct. 7, the Gaza war and broader political shifts, which many Palestinian voters see as sharpening the contradiction between formal citizenship and unequal treatment.
September brought a direct test of that exclusion when Israel’s Central Elections Committee disqualified the two Arab-majority parties before the Supreme Court restored them; candidate Sami Abu Shehadeh later withdrew after a public campaign against him.
Daily insecurity also shapes the vote: 252 Arab citizens were killed in violent crime in 2025, a record that many in Palestinian communities view as evidence of state neglect and second-class citizenship.