LONDON: Israel’s Arab parties are potential kingmakers after gaining a record 19 seats in the Knesset, but translating their electoral achievements into political clout could be a lot harder than obtaining the votes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot lead rival blocs whose calculations are confounded by a spike in vote among Palestinian citizens of Israel, and neither has a simple path to a governing majority.
Exit polls Tuesday night initially awarded Eisenkot’s anti-Netanyahu bloc 54 seats, nearly five more than the prime minister’s alliance. Within hours, the positions had nearly reversed. The outgoing National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, of Otzma Yehudit, was expected to do well but did worse than projected. The results were more optimistic for the Joint List, a coalition of Arab-majority parties that was projected to gain roughly 10 seats at first, and Ra’am, or the United Arab List.
Together, the Arab parties won 19 seats, their best result ever, and have unparalleled clout in negotiations over the future Israeli administration. Arab inhabitants of Israel, many of them descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the state was created and around a fifth of the population, have become increasingly upset with Netanyahu’s ultranationalist approach to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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