Saturday, October 31, 2026

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Arab-Led Parties Win a Record 19 Seats in Israel as Turnout Surges, AP Reports

Nearly 840,000 people voted for Ra'am and the Joint List, up 64% from 2022. Voters and candidates describe it as a push to unseat Netanyahu, while Netanyahu and his allies warn against sharing power with them.

By PAUL CHRISTLE · 2 min read 1 source listed below
Reuven Rivlin met with the chairmans of parties in Israel to hear their recommendation, May 2021 (GPOZAC 7802).jpg
Photo: Haim Zach / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Facts

  • Arab-led parties won a record 19 of 120 Knesset seats in Israel’s October 27, 2026, election, beating the previous record of 15, the Associated Press reported on October 30 via PBS NewsHour.
  • Nearly 840,000 people voted for Ra’am and the Joint List, a 64% increase from 2022, according to final Central Election Committee results. In Tarabin, a Negev Bedouin village, turnout nearly doubled and Ra’am won 93% of the vote. Sakhnin had Israel’s highest turnout, at 87%.
  • Voters and candidates framed the turnout as a push to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than faith in Israeli democracy, the AP reported. Mazen Ghnaim, a Ra’am supporter and mayor, cited rising violent crime in Arab communities and incitement by members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
  • The Joint List calls Israel’s Gaza campaign a genocide and compares the West Bank occupation to apartheid. Most Jewish Israelis reject both claims, according to the AP.
  • Netanyahu warned on X against any party forming a government with the Arab-led parties, saying it would lead to the ‘Islamization of Israel.’ Itamar Ben Gvir urged Jewish voters on Election Day to turn out to keep the country Jewish.
  • Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot denied plans to form a coalition with the Arab-led parties. He has set conditions, including that they affirm Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and label Hamas a terrorist organization.
  • Only once has an Arab-led party served in an Israeli government: Ra’am joined a short-lived coalition in 2021. Tamar Hermann of the Israel Democracy Institute said Eisenkot may struggle to keep support if he partners with them.

Quotes

Mansour Abbas, Ra’am leader, said: “We are here and we’re not on the sidelines.” He is confident his party will join a government.

Yousef Jabareen, of the Joint List, said his party promised to “get rid of this fascist government” and wants equality for Palestinian citizens and a revived peace process.

Sami Abou Shehadeh, a Joint List leader, summed up the choice as “bad or worse.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, on X, warned that a government with the Arab-led parties would lead to the “Islamization of Israel.”

Source Read the Associated Press report on PBS NewsHour here.

Image No photo for this story.

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