Israeli Arab Parties Projected to Hold 18 to 19 Seats

Exit polls from Israeli broadcasters projected that the Arab parties Raam and the Joint List could hold 18 to 19 seats in the next Knesset, potentially giving them influence over government formation as neither major bloc appeared to have a majority. Official results were still pending on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. The projected combined total would be a sharp increase from the five seats held by each party in the outgoing parliament. The Knesset has 120 seats, and a government needs support from at least 61 lawmakers to command a majority. Updated exit-poll estimates put both the bloc aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot at about 51 seats. The projections leave both short of a majority and place the Arab parties in a potentially pivotal position, though final seat totals could change the calculations. Raam leader Mansour Abbas said he hoped the final results would allow an anti-Netanyahu government to reach the 61-seat threshold. He also said the current numbers did not provide a governing majority. Abbas said both main blocs had contacted Raam before and after the election, according to one account of his remarks. The Arab...