Israel’s Arab parties, which secured a record 19 seats in the recent general elections, are preparing to back opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc, dealing a severe blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospects of forming a new government. The primary Jewish opposition bloc, comprising four parties, fell short of the 61 seats required for an absolute majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Aligning with the two main political groups representing Palestinian citizens of Israel could help avert a political deadlock and prevent a repeat election.
The “Change” opposition bloc has previously pledged to exclude Netanyahu from any coalition, pointing to security failures surrounding the October 7 Hamas attacks and the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial. However, accepting support from Arab factions—whether through direct coalition participation or external backing—presents significant political hurdles for Eisenkot on the right. Both Netanyahu and other political leaders have frequently deployed anti-Arab rhetoric during campaigns to attract Jewish voters. Israel’s Arab minority has long faced political marginalization, a trend intensified since October 7, which has seen at least two former Palestinian legislators and one sitting Knesset member briefly arrested for statements critical of military actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
In the recent election, a coalition of conservative and far-right parties led by Netanyahu’s Likud secured 53 seats. The main opposition bloc, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar party, won 48 seats. Meanwhile, record turnout among Arab voters—surging to approximately 80 percent—propelled the Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am to unprecedented representation. Ra’am, headed by Mansour Abbas, captured eight seats, while the Joint List, led by Yousef Jabareen, won 11.
While the Arab bloc has signaled openness to collaborating with the opposition, earlier speculation suggested Eisenkot might reject their support to insulate himself from backlash among the broader Jewish public. Arabs comprise roughly a fifth of Israel’s population, and only one Arab party, Ra’am, has ever entered a governing coalition, doing so in 2021 in a government that survived for less than two years. Eisenkot and other opposition figures had previously ruled out formal partnerships with Arab parties during campaigning.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has alleged without evidence that Arab parties engaged in election fraud with foreign backing, citing the arrests of three political activists suspected of vote-buying prior to the election. While investigators suspect connections to Ra’am, the party has denied involvement. Netanyahu’s claims appear to be losing traction after an Israeli court released one suspect and placed another under house arrest over the weekend. Central Elections Committee head Noam Sohlberg appeared alongside the attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service in a video released Sunday, signaling inter-agency confidence that the election results remain sound regardless of pending investigations. Likud has also characterized any cooperation between Zionist parties and the Arab bloc as treasonous and “dangerous to Israel,” drawing protests from dozens of demonstrators outside Eisenkot’s residence in Herzliya.
Despite the friction, media reports indicate that both the Joint List and Ra’am intend to cooperate with the opposition bloc to unseat Netanyahu, though not necessarily by joining the cabinet. Abbas has previously stated he would join an Eisenkot-led government if granted the internal security portfolio, noting that his party’s deputy leader is a Jewish lawmaker as a signal to the opposition. Conversely, Jabareen confirmed that the Joint List has no intention of joining an Eisenkot government but would support it from outside the coalition in the Knesset. This outside backing would enable Eisenkot to form a minority government with fewer than 61 seats.
Uncertainty remains over how Eisenkot and his partners will proceed, particularly given earlier opposition demands that any coalition partner accept Israel as a Jewish state, support military conscription, and denounce Hamas. Jabareen dismissed those conditions as irrelevant for a party operating outside the coalition, emphasizing that the ongoing West Bank occupation precludes formal participation in the government. Meanwhile, final election results are scheduled for official certification on Wednesday, after which President Isaac Herzog will begin livestreamed consultations with leaders from the 11 parties elected to parliament to determine their preferred candidate for prime minister.
Herzog will grant the chosen candidate 28 days to assemble a governing coalition, with a potential 14-day extension if negotiations stall. While slim, possibilities remain for a unity government between Netanyahu and the opposition, or for Likud to peel away members of the opposition bloc. Yashar reported on social media that several of its members received outreach from Likud over the weekend. All newly elected parliamentarians are scheduled to be sworn in on November 10 regardless of the coalition talks’ status.
