Israeli Jewish Blocs Reject 19 Arab Seats as 80% Palestinian Turnout Reshapes Coalition Math
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 29
Israeli Jewish Blocs Reject 19 Arab Seats as 80% Palestinian Turnout Reshapes Coalition Math
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Oct 29
Summary
Former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, along with Avigdor Lieberman, ruled out joining a government backed by Palestinian parties despite those parties holding 19 of 120 Knesset seats.
An estimated 80% of eligible Palestinian citizens voted Tuesday, lifting Ra’am and the Joint List into a pivotal bloc after anger over the Gaza war, rising crime and what analysts called racist exclusion.
The rejection leaves Israel’s deadlock intact: Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, the anti-Netanyahu Jewish opposition 48, meaning neither side can govern without either Arab backing or a unity deal.
Likud has instead cast the Arab surge as suspect, urging Shin Bet to investigate possible foreign interference and further undermining any opposition move to rely on Palestinian support.
Analysts and Arab politicians say the standoff reflects a deeper refusal across much of mainstream Israeli politics to accept Arab parties as legitimate partners in governing.