Turnout Hits 77.7 Percent as Arab Parties Projected for Record Knesset Seats

Turnout in Israel’s parliamentary election reached 77.7 percent, the highest level since 1999. The Central Elections Committee reported that participation among Palestinian citizens of Israel hit approximately 80 percent. This figure breaks the previous record set in 1999.

Exit polls indicate that Arab-led parties are on track to win a combined 18 seats in the 120-member Knesset. The two major lists are the Joint List and Ra'am. Updated counts show the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot tied at 51 seats with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc.

Mansour Abbas, leader of Ra'am, stated that his party needs the anti-Netanyahu bloc to reach 61 seats to form a government. "With the numbers we have now, there is no government," Abbas told Channel 12. Ra'am currently holds five seats and served in the governing coalition from 2021 to 2022. Abbas noted that both major blocs approached his party for negotiations before and after the vote.

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, noted the difficulty for Eisenkot’s bloc, which campaigned against coalitions with Arab parties. "There's a price to pay," Pinkas said. He added that Arab-led lists will make demands that Jewish-led coalitions may not support.

Netanyahu’s camp launched a last-minute campaign on Tuesday to rally supporters. Likud vehicles drove through Jerusalem playing the Islamic call to prayer and urging voters to act because "Arabs are voting." Arab politicians labeled the tactic racist. Netanyahu shared images of long lines in Arab communities on social media, warning that without action, voters would face a government led by Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi.

Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, described the vote as an existential moment for Palestinian-Israelis. She noted that the high turnout included voters who typically boycott elections due to systemic discrimination. The Knesset has passed more than 100 laws affecting the rights of Palestinian citizens, who make up about 21 percent of Israel’s 10 million people.