Israel’s Hung Knesset: 19 Arab Seats, Few Takers, And A Second Election Knocking

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and main opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot failed to secure outright majorities after 2026 Knesset Election.

Israel voted. Nobody won. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is set for 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, eight short of a majority, according to near-final Central Elections Committee figures. Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has 48. The gap is filled by Arab parties, on 19 seats: the Joint List with 12, Ra’am with seven.

“Arab parties made unprecedented gains in the 2026 Knesset elections,” Dr Arik Rudnitzky of Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center told Times Now Digital. “This makes them politically relevant to any government formed in the aftermath of these elections, either as an integral part of the governing coalition or by providing a safety net from the outside.” Their price is domestic: action on crime and violence, budget gaps with Jewish communities, and infrastructure.

Relevant isn’t welcome, though. “In the post-October 2023 political and social settings in Israel, most of the Jewish parties are reluctant to have such a cooperation, and some of them even rule this option altogether,” Rudnitzky said.

Yonah Bob, author of In the War Room, told Times Now Digital that “the…

Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world