For Israel's Arabs, record turnout may bring political clout

Nazareth, Israel — Israel's Palestinian citizens are poised to secure a record number of parliamentary seats and potentially become decisive players in the nation's political landscape following a high voter turnout in Tuesday's election, driven by discontent over the government's allegedly discriminatory policies under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While their presence could thwart an outright victory for Netanyahu and his right-wing allies, the parties representing Israel's 21% Arab minority have yet to gain the recognition they seek from Netanyahu's main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, who lacks a clear path to power without their support. Preliminary vote counts indicate the two leading Arab parties are on track to secure approximately 19 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, more than doubling their current representation.

Netanyahu's coalition is projected to capture 53 seats, falling short of the 61 necessary for a majority, with Eisenkot's coalition on course to secure 48 seats. Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Arab-dominated Joint List, expressed to Reuters that his party intends to leverage its projected 12 seats to actively work towards removing Netanyahu's government and potentially helping to reshape Israel's political future.