Times of Israel, on Targeting

3.0out of 10Minor

With 84% of ballots counted, pro-Netanyahu bloc at 54 seats ...

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Live Update From the Liveblog of

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

With 84% of ballots counted, pro-Netanyahu bloc at 54 seats, Eisenkot-led bloc at 49,

With 84.5% of ballot boxes counted as of 12:34 p.m., partial results published by the Central Elections Committee give 54 seats to the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 49 seats to the bloc led by Yashar’s Gadi Eisenkot.

The Arab-led parties — the Joint List and Ra’am — drop to 17 seats.

Parties currently below the 3.25% threshold: Reservists (2.7%), People of Israel (1.6%), 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.

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What we found (1)

The Times of Israel gives a brief, hedged count of partial results in Israel's October 2026 election, with the seat figures attributed and marked as partial. In its own voice it calls the Joint List and Ra'am only 'Arab parties' and 'Arab-led parties' and never uses the word Palestinian, though survey evidence from 2019 shows most Arab citizens of Israel chose a self-description that included Palestinian.

  1. Erases a people's national identity

    Minor

    “Arab parties at 17”

    Why this matters
    In the update's own title line, the words 'Arab parties' group the Joint List and Ra'am under an Arab-only label, set beside the two Israeli blocs.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes these parties and their voters to be an Arab ethnic sector within Israel, cut off from the Palestinian people.
    The context
    Most Arab citizens of Israel have described themselves as Palestinian. In Smooha's 2019 survey, 61.9% chose a description that included Palestinian. Arab and Palestinian identities coexist, but the article never uses the word Palestinian anywhere.

    How we know

    • Our analysis“61.9% chose a description of themselves that included Palestinian”Palestinian citizens of Israel voted in record numbers
    • 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”.

    Show it in the article

How other outlets reported it

Our analysisPalestinian citizens of Israel voted in record numbers

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