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Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List (Ra’am), said early Wednesday he hoped his party and Israel’s opposition could win the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority and replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, according to Anadolu Agency.
“I hope we can change this government and that the numbers add up to 61 seats, the opposition bloc together with Ra’am,” Abbas told “Channel 12”. He added: “With the numbers we have now, there is no government.”
Abbas said high turnout among Arab voters reflected despair and frustration that had turned into hope. Asked about opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman refusing to cooperate with his party, he said the issue would be addressed after the election.
Supporters of the Joint List celebrated at its headquarters in Nazareth, chanting slogans mocking National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen said projections showed the alliance had met its goal of building a strong list capable of bringing change.
“Channel 12” reported turnout among Arab voters at 80%. Its exit poll projected that Arab parties would win a combined 18 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while the bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot was projected to win 52 and Netanyahu’s bloc 50. Neither bloc was projected to secure a parliamentary majority.
Overall turnout reached 77.7%, the highest since 1999 and 7.1 percentage points higher than in the 2022 election, the Central Elections Committee said.
Vote counting began after polls closed at 10 pm local time (2000 GMT) on Tuesday. Exit polls are projections, not official results.
