NEW DELHI: Arab political parties could play a decisive role in determining the next government in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Likud-led bloc failed to secure a parliamentary majority in the 2026 elections.
With 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, Arab factions have emerged as a potential source of support for an opposition alliance seeking to form a government. However, differences among opposition leaders over working with Arab parties, along with uncertainty about the latter’s willingness to participate in a new administration, have complicated coalition negotiations.
The final election results gave Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats, while the four main opposition parties secured 48 seats. The remaining 19 seats went to Arab political groupings, leaving neither side with the 61 seats required to command a majority in the Knesset.
The outcome has placed Arab representatives at the centre of Israel’s post-election political discussions, with their parliamentary support potentially influencing the formation of the next government.
Netanyahu’s Likud remains the largest party
Likud emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar secured 21 seats.
The Joint List, comprising Hadash, Ta’al and Balad, won 11 seats. Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am secured another eight seats, taking the combined strength of the Arab political groupings to 19.
Although Netanyahu’s bloc finished ahead of the opposition in terms of seats, it remained eight short of the majority mark. The opposition parties also fell short, making negotiations with smaller political groups particularly important.
The results have created a complicated parliamentary situation in which neither the incumbent prime minister’s alliance nor the opposition can independently form a majority government.
The possibility of cooperation with Arab parties has therefore become an important consideration for opposition leaders attempting to negotiate an alternative administration.
Ra’am and Joint List differ on their approach
The two Arab political groupings have different positions on participating in the next government, making their combined 19 seats difficult to treat as a single political bloc.
Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, has previously participated in a governing coalition. The party joined the government formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid in 2021, marking a significant development in Israeli coalition politics.
Its previous experience in government has made it a potential partner in another arrangement aimed at keeping Netanyahu out of power. However, Abbas has expressed doubts about the possibility of supporting a minority government led by Eisenkot.
As, Abbas told party members that such an arrangement was unlikely or potentially impossible.
The Joint List, which comprises Hadash, Ta’al and Balad, has taken a different approach to possible cooperation. Rather than necessarily joining a governing coalition, it could offer parliamentary support to an alternative administration from outside the government.
Such an arrangement could allow an opposition-led minority government to survive confidence votes and other important parliamentary proceedings, depending on the nature and consistency of the support it receives.
The distinction between the two parties is important because their combined strength does not automatically translate into a commitment to support the same candidate or government.
Opposition leaders divided over Arab partnership
The opposition’s efforts to explore an alternative government are also complicated by disagreements among its own leaders over cooperation with Arab political parties.
Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beytenu, which secured seven seats, has opposed forming a government with Arab parties or relying on their support for a minority administration.
Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party, which won 12 seats, has also ruled out joining a government dependent on Arab parties. This position creates an additional obstacle for Eisenkot’s efforts to assemble a coalition.
Yair Golan, chairman of The Democrats, has supported cooperation with Arab representatives to form a government without Netanyahu. Golan met Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a political partnership.
Eisenkot has also held discussions with opposition leaders, including Bennett and Golan, as negotiations over possible government arrangements began.
The differences within the opposition mean that securing support from Arab parties alone may not be sufficient to establish a functioning administration.
The political debate has also moved beyond party meetings. Demonstrators gathered outside Eisenkot’s residence in Herzliya, urging him to cooperate with Arab parties to prevent Netanyahu from returning to power.
Protesters chanted, “There is no change without partnership”, highlighting the disagreement over whether Arab political representation should be part of a new governing arrangement.
Amir Badran, deputy mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, was among those attending the demonstration and expressed support for cooperation between the opposition and Arab parties.
The protests reflected the wider political discussion surrounding the role of Arab representatives in Israel’s parliamentary system.
What options does Netanyahu have?
Despite falling short of a parliamentary majority, Netanyahu remains in contention to form the next government.
His Likud party secured 27 seats, making it the largest individual party in the Knesset. However, the wider pro-Netanyahu bloc has only 53 seats, leaving it eight short of the 61 required for a majority.
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads Religious Zionism, have reportedly met to coordinate their efforts following the election.
Another possibility involves negotiations over a broader national unity government bringing together Likud and opposition parties.
A hypothetical arrangement involving Likud, Yashar, B’Yachad and Yisrael Beytenu would have 67 seats, provided all four parties agreed to participate. However, such a coalition would face significant political obstacles because opposition leaders have campaigned on removing Netanyahu from power.
The disagreement over Netanyahu’s continued leadership, along with differences on cooperation with Arab parties, makes this option dependent on substantial political compromises.
The election outcome has therefore left several possible arrangements under discussion, without either major bloc having secured a clear parliamentary majority.
What happens next in Israel’s government formation process?
The next stage of the process will involve the formal submission of election results and consultations with political parties.
The Central Elections Committee has announced that the final results will be submitted to President Isaac Herzog on November 4, following examinations of possible errors and complaints.
Herzog is expected to consult political parties before assigning a candidate the mandate to form the next government. The candidate will then have to secure sufficient parliamentary support to establish an administration.
The newly elected 26th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10.
The process could become complicated if the parties fail to reach an agreement on a coalition arrangement within the stipulated timeframe. If attempts to form a government prove unsuccessful, Israel could face another election.
According to reporting by The Associated Press, the political deadlock could also result in negotiations over a unity government involving parties from both major blocs. AP News+1
Arab parties’ 19 seats place them at the centre of negotiations
The 2026 election results have highlighted the importance of Arab political representation in Israel’s parliamentary arithmetic. With 19 seats between the Joint List and Ra’am, Arab parties have secured their strongest combined representation in the Knesset.
However, their ability to influence the next government will depend on whether they can agree on a common approach and whether opposition leaders are willing to work with them.
For Netanyahu, the challenge is to find additional parliamentary support despite the decline in his bloc’s strength. For Eisenkot and other opposition leaders, the task involves reconciling their differences over cooperation with Arab parties while exploring possible alternatives.
The final outcome will depend on negotiations in the days following the election, with President Herzog’s consultations and the November 10 parliamentary swearing-in marking important stages in the process.