Israeli Politicsupdated 34m ago3 min read
Joint List And Ra’am Hold Key Seats After Israel Election Deadlock
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6 Other3 Western Mainstream2 West AsianThis article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Neither main bloc secures 61 seats, giving Arab parties pivotal role in coalition. Ra'am and Joint List hold decisive seats enabling anti-Netanyahu coalition.
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Deadlock After Election
Israel’s October 27 parliamentary elections left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a struggle to remain in office because neither his bloc nor the opposition bloc secured the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. The Central Elections Committee reported that Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, while the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot won 48, and the two Arab-led parties, the Joint List and Ra’am, combined for 19 seats. The Forward framed the arithmetic as a coalition impasse, saying, "In Israel’s 120-seat Knesset, a governing coalition needs 61 seats," while the BBC described the same outcome as a situation where "neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the Jewish opposition bloc achieved a majority in the Knesset."
The Forward said the election produced an unprecedented 19 seats for Israel’s Arab parties, nearly doubling their previous representation, and it said neither major bloc could govern alone. The BBC said the Joint List and Ra’am won a record 19 seats after a significant increase in Arab voter turnout, positioning them as potential key players in forming a new government after Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 and Eisenkot’s bloc won 48.
Qatar Accusations and Denials
Netanyahu’s Likud accused the Arab parties of “stealing” the elections, and the Shin Bet investigated whether they received illegal funding from Qatar and Turkey, according to the BBC. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the accusations and described them as “ridiculous and dangerous,” while the BBC said the Joint List rejected the claim as groundless. Gadi Eisenkot told reporters, "it is too early to determine what happened, or whether anything happened," and he accused Netanyahu of an "orchestrated and organized campaign to delegitimize the election results."
Sami Abu Shehadeh, Balad president and part of the Arab Joint List, dismissed the accusation and said, "The losing side is inventing a racist smear and is asking security agencies to use force to overturn the election results." The BBC said Shin Bet later clarified that its investigation did not implicate an entire community that voted legally, and Dean Livne said there was no basis for accusations of systematic violations of electoral integrity.
Red Lines and Coalition Paths
The Forward said political leaders drew red lines against both a national unity government and cooperation with Arab parties, and it described a paradox where Arab citizens voted in extraordinary numbers yet the parties whose votes could break the deadlock were refused as governing partners. The BBC laid out three plausible options for forming a government, including a national unity government, a right-wing coalition including Netanyahu and dissidents from Eisenkot’s bloc, or a government led by Eisenkot with the outside support of the Arab List. Jpost said the opposition leaders faced a dilemma because Eisenkot’s bloc included parties that had drawn redlines against Arab parties being part of the government, while the Joint List stated it was willing to engage in “political cooperation to bring down Netanyahu’s government.”
The Jpost account also said Liberman restated he would not sit with the Arab parties or Netanyahu and said, "The only coalition we would consider is one made up exclusively of Zionist parties, including Likud without Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu]," while it reported that Eisenkot and other opposition leaders had previously rejected reliance on Arab parties. The L’Orient Today described the coalition math as requiring crossing a 61-seat threshold, and it said the opposition’s bet would cement Netanyahu’s defeat at the polls by combining an anti-Netanyahu alliance with the Arab parties, the United Arab List and the Joint List.