Israel’s recent parliamentary elections have left the country in a state of political uncertainty, with neither the ruling Likud party nor the opposition coalition securing a definitive path to government formation. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud faction emerged as the largest party, its governing bloc remains short of the required majority, and the self-identified ‘Zionist’ opposition parties face similar gridlock.
A significant factor in the election was an 80 percent turnout among eligible Palestinian voters. This community, representing approximately 21 percent of the national population, has surged in participation, securing 19 seats in the 120-member parliament for the United Arab List (Ra’am) and the Joint List. This result potentially positions these parties as a decisive force in the formation of the next government. However, is the surge in turnout from Palestinian citizens of Israel, which has established Arab parties as a pivotal bloc in the parliament, potentially one able to determine which of the rival camps forms a government, if either is willing to work with them, what is not in doubt. While other opposition figures have either resisted such an alliance or stopped short of rejecting allegations that foreign actors helped engineer the surge in Palestinian voter turnout, the left-wing Democrats have been the likeliest to cooperate with the Palestinian parties. “There are very different ideas at play of what it means to be a citizen of Israel and of how Israel should be governed and for whose benefit,” he said. “These are fundamental differences, of course they are, but they can’t disguise the racism underpinning all.”. Because the voice of the Arabs do not count as the voice of the Jews, we cannot talk about a victory.”, but only in Israel.
Instead of engaging with this clear democratic mandate, prominent Israeli politicians have moved to delegitimize the outcome. The ruling Likud party has framed the Palestinian turnout as an attempt to steal the election and has requested that the Shin Bet, the internal security service, investigate alleged foreign interference. Netanyahu’s campaign has further characterized these results as a move toward the “Islamisation of Israel.”
This rhetoric has placed the legitimacy of the Arab vote under scrutiny and discouraged potential alliances between the opposition and Palestinian parties. Much of the Jewish-led opposition, despite criticizing Netanyahu for corruption and mismanagement, has remained hesitant to include Palestinian lists in a coalition. On election night, former prime ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett explicitly ruled out sitting with Palestinian parties, despite previously relying on their support during the 2021–22 government term. In doing so, they appear to have thrown the legitimacy of the Arab vote into question and tainted any future attempt by the opposition to ally with the Arab parties.
Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beytenu party, solidified this rejection on Thursday by stating he would work with “neither Bibi nor Tibi,” referring to the Prime Minister and Ahmad Tibi, a prominent leader within the Joint List. Orly Noy, a candidate for the Balad party, argued that the surge in voting was a direct response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and concerns over rising crime and the policies of far-right figures like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
According to Noy, Palestinians turned out in record numbers to protect their last remaining democratic tool as their rights have eroded since October 7. She criticized the opposition for failing to acknowledge the election results as a clear rejection of Netanyahu, noting that some are instead considering a unity government with their rivals. She described the refusal to align with Palestinian parties as both deeply racist and undemocratic. So they used that in massive numbers, but even that now seems to be being undermined and delegitimised,” she said, the last tool they had in their toolbox – the only thing they had that was equal to everyone else – was their vote. “Why are the opposition and the press even thinking of this as a three-way split.
Analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg noted that this exclusion is rooted in fundamentally different visions for the country. He explained that mainstream Israeli politics often operates on the assumption of Jewish supremacy, a concept bolstered by the 2018 Nation State Law which restricts the right to national self-determination to Jewish people. For many, the Palestinian vote is viewed as a systemic challenge to this exclusionary framework.
Currently, the pro-Netanyahu bloc controls 53 seats, while the anti-Netanyahu Jewish opposition holds 48.
With the Palestinian parties holding 19 seats, the math dictates that a parliamentary majority against the current Prime Minister is technically possible, though political resistance remains high. Mauricio Lapchik, campaign director for the Joint List, argued that if these results occurred in a standard democracy, it would be unthinkable to ignore such a significant portion of the electorate, but the current discourse suggests a desire to form a government exclusively with Jewish voices.
