Israel’s Arab parties, which won a record-breaking 19 seats in last week’s general elections, are set to back opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc, further trampling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of leading another government.
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which → win → government
The main Jewish opposition bloc, which includes four parties, fell short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, but joining forces with the two main groups that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel could help avoid a political deadlock and another election.
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that → include → deadlock
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Already, the “Change” opposition bloc has pledged not to join forces with Netanyahu, citing security failures that led to the October 7 Hamas attacks and an ongoing corruption trial that the prime minister faces.
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minister → say → that
But taking support from the Arab parties — whether as part of the ruling coalition or as outside support — also poses a challenge for Eisenkot from the right, at a time when leaders and parties, including Netanyahu, have been openly deploying anti-Arab racism to woo Jewish voters.
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leaders → take → voters
Israel’s minority Arab population has long been marginalised in politics.
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population → marginalise → politics
Since October 7, however, they have been sidelined even more.
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they → sideline → October
At least two former Palestinian legislators, and one current member of the Knesset, have been arrested briefly for comments or acts deemed critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank.
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legislators → arrest → Bank
As the parties weigh possible paths to power, it’s likely they’ll have to make compromises and break promises made to their supporters, analysts say.
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analysts → weigh → supporters
Here’s the latest:
What happened in the elections?
A coalition of Jewish conservative and far-right parties led by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud won 53 seats in a Knesset of 120 seats, falling short of a majority.
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coalition → ’ → majority
The opposition bloc, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar party, won 48 seats — even further away from a majority.
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bloc → lead → majority
Meanwhile, the Arab-led Joint List and Ra’am won more seats than ever after Arab voters doubled their turnout to about 80 percent.
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voters → lead → percent
Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, won eight seats, while the Joint List, led by Yousef Jabareen, won 11.
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List → lead → 11
While the Arab bloc has been open to working with the opposition, there were speculations that Eisenkot would refuse their support to avoid backlash from the wider Jewish Israeli public.
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Eisenkot → work → public
Arabs make up a fifth of the population of Israel.
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Arabs → make → Israel
Only one Arab party, Ra’am, has successfully joined a governing coalition – in 2021.
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party → join → 2021
That government lasted less than two years.
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government → last → ?
Eisenkot and other opposition leaders had earlier said they would not form a coalition with Arab parties to appeal to their supporters.
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they → say → supporters
What is Netanyahu saying?
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Netanyahu → say → What
Netanyahu has claimed repeatedly and without proof that Arab parties committed fraud during the elections with foreign backing.
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parties → claim → backing
The prime minister and his Likud party have cited a handful of cases, like the arrests of three political activists who allegedly bribed voters before polls opened.
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polls → cite → voters
They are suspected of connections with the Ra’am party, although the party denies involvement.
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party → suspect → involvement
Netanyahu’s case, however, appears to be weakening.
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case → appear → ?
On Sunday, an Israeli court released one of the suspects, and another was ordered to remain in house arrest.
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another → release → arrest
Israeli election officials have also said the vote would not be undermined.
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vote → say → ?
Videos on Sunday of Israel’s elections chief sitting with Israel’s attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service appeared to send the message that the agencies are cooperating to make the vote stand.
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vote → sit → message
“Our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole,” Central Elections Committee head Noam Sohlberg said in the clip.
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Sohlberg → substantiate → clip
Netanyahu and Likud also suggested that the opposition bloc joining with Arab parties would be treasonous.
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bloc → suggest → parties
In a statement after the vote, Likud warned that Zionist parties cooperating with the Arab bloc would be “dangerous to Israel”.
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parties → warn → Israel
Some Israelis agree.
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Israelis → agree → ?
Late on Sunday, dozens gathered outside Eisenkot’s home to protest a potential alliance.
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dozens → gather → alliance
Will Arab parties back Eisenkot?
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parties → back → Eisenkot
According to several media reports, Joint List and Ra’am said they’ll collaborate with the opposition bloc to push Netanyahu out but not necessarily to form a government.
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they → accord → government
Abbas of Ra’am has long said he’d join a potential Eisenkot government if his party is given the internal security portfolio.
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party → say → portfolio
That his deputy is a Jewish lawmaker is also seen as a signal to the opposition bloc.
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is → see → bloc
Jabareen of the Joint List, meanwhile, said in a Monday interview with The Guardian that his party was ready to cooperate with the “Change” bloc to get rid of Netanyahu and other extremist members of the government, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
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party → say → Gvir
He clarified that the party has no intention of joining an Eisenkot government but that it would vote with it in the Knesset.
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it → clarify → Knesset
That would allow Eisenkot to form a “minority government” with fewer than 61 seats.
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Eisenkot → allow → seats
But it’s unclear what Eisenkot and his partners will do next.
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Eisenkot → ’ → what
The opposition bloc earlier placed conditions on any coalition with the Arab parties, saying they must accept Israel as a Jewish state, back army conscription and denounce Hamas as a terror group.
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they → place → group
“The conditions that [Eisenkot] speaks of are more relevant for parties who would be in the coalition.
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who → speak → coalition
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
