With over 50% of ballots counted, pro-Netanyahu bloc has 55 seats; opposition has 50, Arab parties hold 15
With 53.7% of ballot boxes counted as of 7:27 a.m., partial results published by the Central Elections Committee give the pro-Netanyahu bloc 55 seats and the anti-Netanyahu bloc 50.
Parties currently below the 3.25% threshold: Reservists (2.7%), People of Israel (1.7%), Charedi Public (0.2%).
The results are partial and will change as counting continues. Votes cast in double envelopes, including those of soldiers, are counted later.
The Times of Israel posts a short liveblog update with partial seat counts from the Central Elections Committee and notes, fairly, that the results are partial and will change. In its own voice it calls the parties that Palestinian citizens of Israel vote for only "Arab parties" and never uses the word Palestinian. The reader is never told that most of these voters describe themselves as Palestinian.
Erases a people's national identity
Serious
“Arab parties hold 15”
Why this matters
In its own voice the outlet uses "Arab parties" for the parties of Palestinian citizens of Israel. It is a generic ethnic category, not an official party name or a quotation, and the word Palestinian appears nowhere in the update.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking these 15 seats belong to an ethnic minority bloc, the Arab sector, with no link to the Palestinian people.
The context
Most Arab citizens of Israel describe themselves in terms that include Palestinian. In Sammy Smooha's 2019 survey of 718 adult Arab citizens, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. That is survey evidence about the population, not proof of every voter's identity, and Arab and Palestinian identities coexist. The update could have named them as Palestinian citizens of Israel and kept its seat figures unchanged.
On the recordIn Sammy Smooha's April-June 2019 survey of 718 adult Arab citizens of Israel, including Druze and Bedouin, 61.9% chose a self-description containing Palestinian. This is historical survey evidence, not a 2026 percentage or proof of any individual's identity. Arab and Palestinian identities can coexist.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “Palestinian”.
With over 50% of ballots counted, the pro-Netanyahu bloc has 55 seats, the opposition has 50, and parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel hold 15.