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Israel's Arab-led parties win 19 of 120 seats and a central role in coalition talks
November 7, 2026
The Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Post report that when Israel signed the Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020, the Arab parties voted against the peace agreement because it ignored the Palestinian issue.
The Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Post report that during the October 27 general election in Israel, Arab voters in the Negev were filmed racing to polling stations on camelback, waving green Islamist flags.
The Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Post report that when Israel signed the Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020, the Arab parties voted against the peace agreement because it ignored the Palestinian issue. As results came in, Netanyahu's Likud party went further, NPR reports. NPR reports that Arab-led parties won 19 out of 120 seats — enough to give them a critical role in the negotiations that will now determine who governs Israel at this turbulent moment in the country's history. This election, Arab-led parties received a 64% increase in votes compared to the last elections, according to the Central Elections Committee.
According to NPR, Shaaban said, "There are Israelis we eat with and live alongside".
The Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Post report that during the October 27 general election in Israel, Arab voters in the Negev were filmed racing to polling stations on camelback, waving green Islamist flags.
Haaretz reports that Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. In recent years many Palestinian citizens of Israel shunned elections, believing there was little to gain from participating in the politics of a state which, they say, regularly marginalizes their communities and oppresses their fellow Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, NPR reports. Palestinian citizens of Israel, descendants of those who remained as the state of Israel was established in 1948 (when a majority of the prewar population was forcibly expelled or fled during the war) now make up about 20% of the population. NPR reports that but last month, Palestinian Arabs in Israel came to the ballot boxes in record numbers, helping strip Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's most far-right government in Israel's history of its majority, and giving Arab-led parties the votes they needed to become a powerful force in Israeli politics. The Times of Israel reports that referencing Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the letter urges the leaders of Yashar, the Joint List, B’Yachad, The Democrats, Ra’am and Yisrael Beytenu to commit to “repairing Israel’s weakened liberal democracy,” noting that “this commitment necessarily embraces the inherent legitimacy and welcomes the inclusion of parties representing Israel’s Arab citizens.”
Still developing
Haaretz reports that Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. In recent years many Palestinian citizens of Israel shunned elections, believing there was little to gain from participating in the politics of a state which, they say, regularly marginalizes their communities and oppresses their fellow Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, NPR reports. Palestinian citizens of Israel, descendants of those who remained as the state of Israel was established in 1948 (when a majority of the prewar population was forcibly expelled or fled during the war) now make up about 20% of the population.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- NPR — Israel's Arab-led parties in spotlight after inconclusive election
- The Jerusalem Post — My Word: Arab voting and the bigger picture
- Haaretz — A Jewish-Arab Government Is the Answer to Israel's Most Basic Problems - Opinion
- The Times of Israel — 1,000 Diaspora Jews call for joint Jewish-Arab 'coalition of change' | The Times of Israel
Toggle read the full reports of 4 of the 5 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.