What are the main Palestinian Israeli parties and why are they doing so well?
With most votes counted in Israel's general election , one of the most striking stories is how well Israeli Arab parties have performed at the polls. As it stands, the Arab Joint List, which includes Hadash, Balad and Ta'al, alongside the Ra'am party led by Mansour Abbas, have won a record 18 of the Knesset's 120 seats. A government needs 61 seats for a majority. With a tight race between Prime…
The Israeli general election has seen Palestinian Israeli parties perform exceptionally well, winning a record 18 seats out of the 120 in the Knesset. The Arab Joint List, comprising Hadash, Ta'al and Balad, has secured the majority of these seats. Hadash is a left-wing party, led by Yousef Jabareen, a lawyer who advocates for Palestinian rights.
Ta'al, another member of the Joint List, is an anti-Zionist, nationalist party led by Ahmad Tibi. Balad, the far-left and most anti-Zionist of the three, supports a one-state solution. Ra'am, previously part of the Joint List, is a religious Muslim party with few prospects. The strong showing of these parties is largely attributed to a high voter turnout among Palestinian Israelis, who had previously boycotted elections.
The turnout was spurred by appeals from within Arab communities, urging young people to vote, and by videos showing the elderly urging their youth to vote. The surge in violence against Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs post-Hamas attacks and the Israeli war on Gaza has heightened fears among Palestinian Israelis, who perceive the elections as a chance to prevent a "new Nakba".
While it is unlikely that the main election rivals, Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, will form a coalition with Arab parties, their strong performance has still significantly reduced Netanyahu's chances of forming a majority government. This could potentially force Netanyahu into a unity government, possibly pushing extreme figures out of the cabinet.
Written by urgent.news from The National Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
