Arab parties

Israel's leaders may not accept Arab parties even if required for coalition, IDI president says

At least two Arab parties, Hadash and Ta’al, have indicated a willingness to set some of their agenda aside to help change Israel’s current leadership.

A protester holds a placard during a demonstration near the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on October 31, 2026.
Ballot slip for the Ra'am party.

Court lifts restrictions on suspect in alleged Ra'am election bribery scheme

Israeli activists demonstrate outside the home of Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot in Herzliya, calling on him to form an alternative government with the support of Arab parties, October 29, 2026

Israel's post-election deadlock highlights deep societal divides, Arab political ceiling - opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas.

Likud maintains contact with Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, journalist claims


Will Israel's Arab parties be banned from the election? The legal fight explained

A fifth of Israel's voters could be left unrepresented weeks before polls open. Sarah Ben-Nun unpacks the committee's votes, the A-G's split stance, and the Supreme Court's next move. Watch now.

Members of the Joint Arab List Ahmad Tibi, Sami Abu Shehadeh and Yousef Jabareen arrive to submit their party’s candidate list to the Central Elections Committee at the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 8, 2026; illustrative.

Haredi parties, Yashar, coalition bloc lose seats in Knesset, as Otzma Yehudit gains one - poll

Elsewhere in the bloc, the Democrats gained two seats to reach 11, while B’Yachad remained at 13, Yisrael Beytenu at nine and the joint Reservists-Economic Party at four seats.

A PLENUM session at the Knesset.

Eisenkot rejects claim he promised Ra'am a place in future coalition during Bedouin meeting

The denial followed an N12 report in which northern Bedouin local authority heads who met Eisenkot on Tuesday claimed he had promised to bring Ra'am into a government he would lead.

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Yashar party and a former IDF chief of staff, speaks during an election campaign rally in Nordiya, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2026.

Likud says it will request to ban Arab parties from running in elections

The Likud stated that it would file the requests for the parties' disqualifications, and that "there is no place in the Knesset for those who harm IDF soldiers."

Mansour Abbas is the head of Ra’am, one of four Arab parties vying for a place in the Knesset.

Israeli polls split on 2026 Knesset election possibilities, as Yashar, Likud vie for primacy - poll

The bloc averages also show no clear outcome: Netanyahu’s bloc, including Winter, stands at 53.6 seats, compared with 53.4 for the Zionist opposition bloc.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett.

Qualifying threshold considerations - opinion

What changed on Sept. 1 was that Netanyahu, after a refusal from Ben-Gvir, managed to get Smotrich to run in a single list with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party. 

The Knesset

Israel Election 2026: The parties, blocs and battles that will shape Israel's future - explainer

Israel’s first post-October 7 election brings shifting alliances, new political faces and an uncertain path to power

Results of a Maariv poll measuring how many seats each party would receive in the October 2026 Knesset elections, results shared on August 28, 2026.

Ofer Winter, unification of Arab parties, shake up Knesset seats, push RZP below threshold - poll

The data shows that Winter’s entry has created greater complexity within the coalition bloc. Without him, the bloc led by Benjamin Netanyahu receives 43 seats, while with him it rises to 48 seats.

The launch of the new People of Israel party, led by Ofer Winter, ahead of the upcoming Israeli general elections, in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026.

Why are more Jewish politicians considering joining Israeli Arab parties? - opinion

Ra’am Party leader MK Mansour Abbas confirmed that they have discussed with Segalovitz the possibility of his joining the Arab party’s slate ahead of the upcoming elections. 

Yoav Segalovitz, former deputy public security minister attends Internal security committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on November 8, 2021

Developments of the last week that could affect the approaching elections - opinion

His goal was to put unattractive candidates out of realistic places on the list – or as low on the list as possible. In many cases Netanyahu was successful, or at least partially successful. 

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara arrive to cast their vote at a polling station in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026, as party members vote in the Likud primary elections to determine the party’s Knesset list ahead of the Israeli general elections.