Behind the scenes and numbers you may not know about the record voting rates of Palestinian citizens in Israel

For decades, many Palestinian citizens of Israel have refrained from participating in elections, refusing to legitimize a regime they say has oppressed their people, marginalized their issues, and failed to represent them. But this time seemed different; After four years under the most right-wing government in Israel's history, hundreds of thousands of Arab voters have decided that they can no longer remain on the sidelines.

They flocked to the polls in record numbers - nearly 80% - on Tuesday, compared to 53% in the previous elections, according to the Musawa Center, a civil society organization concerned with promoting equality for Palestinian citizens in Israel. This participation rate gives the Arab parties in Israel unprecedented political weight, represented by 19 seats in the 120-seat parliament.

This rise resulted from a number of intertwined reasons: The first is the escalation of violent crimes in Arab society, which is seen as a result of the police’s failure to perform their duties. The second reason is the urgent desire to overthrow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and end his right-wing coalition, which includes hard-line ministers such as Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

There remains no doubt about the intensity of feelings towards the Israeli Minister of National Security in particular; Chants of "Ben Gvir, go home" rose at the electoral headquarters of the Joint List - the most prominent Arab political alliance - when the extent of the success achieved by this alliance in the elections became clear. A long history Netanyahu's coalition oversaw a devastating three-year Israeli war in the Palestinian Gaza Strip - which killed tens of thousands - and a years-long campaign of settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Ahmed Tibi, one of the leaders of the Joint List, said: “Our society wanted to overthrow this criminal government, and change the dangerous reality caused by the policies of Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben Gvir.” Tibi has spent nearly three decades urging the Arab community to exercise their right to vote.

Now he says the high turnout is already paying off; It prevented Netanyahu from forming another right-wing government. Balance of power The weight of the Arab vote also means that neither the ruling coalition led by Netanyahu nor the opposition bloc is expected to obtain a decisive majority.

It now appears that the Joint List - led by Tibi - along with the United Arab List (Ra'am) party, have the ability to tip the balance in favor of one of the two parties. Tibi said that the Joint List is ready to help the opposition form a minority government, headed by former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.

The Joint List will not join this government, nor will it seek any ministerial positions. Rather, it is satisfied with demanding a commitment to address the crime that Arab communities suffer from, and to stop the demolition of Bedouin homes, a phenomenon that has escalated under the Netanyahu government. “If they want our help, we will be there to provide it,” Tibi stated.

He added that such a step requires Eisenkot and his coalition to "be courageous" in the face of Netanyahu's criticism of any attempt to form a government with the support of Arab parties in Israel. This is because the idea of ​​forming a government with the support of Arab parties has become politically “toxic” in Israel, as the majority of Jewish voters oppose it.

A number of opposition parties have previously ruled out such an arrangement. It remains unclear how much Eisenkot is willing to rely on Arab parties for support; The only opposition party that supports such a move is the left-wing Democrats, led by Yair Golan.

“We have an opportunity to form a government of change in partnership with the Arab citizens of Israel,” Golan said on Wednesday. “We now need courage and leadership.”

We have to stop being afraid and start taking actual measures.” As for Tibi, what is holding back some political leaders goes beyond mere fear, as he said: “It is pure racism against 20% of the population, which are Arab citizens.

We are a legitimate part of Parliament, and a legitimate part of the citizens.” Delegitimization attempts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has constantly sought to delegitimize Arab voters, and has repeatedly used the prospect of legislators from the Arab community participating in the government as a means of motivating his electoral base to get out and vote.

In September, the Central Elections Commission approved a proposal to ban Arab parties from running in the elections, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court. As the size of the votes obtained by the Arab parties became clear on Wednesday, the Likud Party, led by Netanyahu, issued a statement accusing it of “stealing the elections.”

Then, on Thursday, the head of the Israeli Central Elections Commission sent a letter to the head of the General Security Service (Shin Bet), requesting an investigation into allegations of foreign interference in the elections aimed at increasing turnout among Arab voters. In the letter, committee chairman Noam Solberg acknowledged that he could not confirm any of these suspicions, and the Israeli police stated that they had not received any evidence to support these allegations.

Arab party leaders say that the Likud Party's attacks amount to incitement, and they have pledged to defend the election results. Mansour Abbas, head of the United Arab List (Ra'am), stated that he would cooperate with any investigation, while Youssef Jabareen, a leader in the Joint List, said that Netanyahu was "defeated" and he "refuses to accept the voters' decision."