Arab-Led Parties Secure 19 Seats in Partial Election Count

By Staff, Agencies

Arab-led parties secured a combined 19 seats in the “Israeli” parliamentary election count, highlighting their strong showing with around 70% of votes counted.

The Joint List secured 13 seats, while Ra’am won six.

The results placed the Arab-led parties in a potentially influential position, as the two main rival blocs remained below the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

A subsequent update published by The Times of "Israel," citing partial Central Elections Committee results, put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc at 54 seats, compared with 47 for the camp led by Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot. The Arab-led parties retained their combined 19 seats.

The update reflected 76.8% of ballot boxes counted as of 10:58 am, leaving Netanyahu’s camp seven seats short of a parliamentary majority and Eisenkot’s camp 14 seats short.

Based on the reported figures, Eisenkot’s bloc and the Arab-led parties would together hold 66 seats. However, turning that numerical majority into a governing coalition would depend on political negotiations and agreements, as the seat totals alone do not indicate that a coalition has been formed.

Another possible scenario is that neither camp succeeds in forming a government, leaving the political deadlock unresolved.

Removing Itamar Ben-Gvir from government would, in itself, represent an achievement for Palestinians.