Arab Parties Projected to Win Record 19 Knesset Seats as Palestinian Turnout Hits 80%
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 28
Arab Parties Projected to Win Record 19 Knesset Seats as Palestinian Turnout Hits 80%
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 28
Summary
Exit polls from Tuesday’s vote put the Joint List and Ra’am on a record combined 19 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, with more than one-third of ballots counted showing the Joint List above 9% of the vote.
Around 80% of Palestinian citizens of Israel cast ballots—breaking 1999 records and far above their usual participation—helping drive the Arab parties’ projected gains.
Neither major bloc appeared close to the 61 seats needed to govern, and Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said the numbers so far left Israel without a government even as both camps courted his party.
That leverage could prove awkward for Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition and Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition after both campaigned against relying on Arab parties, while Netanyahu’s camp made a late push warning supporters that “Arabs are voting.”
Overall turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999, underscoring how Palestinian citizens—about 21% of Israel’s 10 million people—have emerged as a pivotal bloc despite longstanding discrimination.