The Arab parties in Israel are on the verge of setting a new record of winning seats Paul Adams - Diplomatic Correspondent of the BBC.
Reports indicate that the widespread participation of Israeli Arabs in the elections led to the electoral success of the Arab parties. According to the projections, the two main Arab-majority parties, the United Arab List known as Ream, and the Joint List, a coalition of three smaller parties, may win a total of 19 seats; A figure that, if realized, would be an unprecedented record. Israel's main parties have traditionally been reluctant to include Arab parties in government coalitions. However, it is expected that the distance between the two main electoral blocs will be very small, and this issue will cause Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore the Arab parties. In previous elections in Israel, the Arab turnout was generally lower than the Jewish turnout. But this time it seems that the desire to oust Netanyahu brought a large number of Arab voters to the polls. Apparently aware of this danger, Netanyahu also devoted a large part of election day to warning against Arab voters trying to "steal the election". Eisenkot has said so far that the Arab parties do not have the conditions he wants to join the government coalition. However, the combination of seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, may force him to reconsider; Either by relying on the unofficial support of these parties in the event of the establishment of a minority government, or by introducing the Ream party into the coalition as an official partner. After the 2021 elections, the Ream party participated in the coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. This alliance lasted a year and then collapsed.