Arab Israeli parties emerge as wild card in elections
Israel’s 2026 parliamentary elections are set to amount to political deadlock, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot getting enough votes to form a government. One clear winner did emerge, however, with enough votes to decisively influence the outcome: Israeli Arabs.
TL;DR
- Israeli elections are heading towards political deadlock.
- Neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot have enough votes to form a government.
- Israeli Arab parties Ra'am and Joint List have secured 19 seats.
- The Arab parties' seats strip both major blocs of their needed majorities.
- This gives Israeli Arab parties unprecedented political influence.