Israel’s Arab voters have made themselves impossible to ignore. The question now is whether the country’s political leaders will accept their elected representatives as partners in shaping its future. The answer will shape both the next government and the prospects for peace.

By the morning of 29 October, reporting on the unfinished count converged on 53 seats for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp, 48 for the opposition grouping led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot and 19 for Arab-led parties. These are provisional figures, not a final allocation or a coalition agreement. Netanyahu remains in office, and neither principal camp has secured an absolute parliamentary majority.

Before the election, I wrote: “Netanyahu does not necessarily need his opponents to lose. He needs them to remain unable to govern together.” Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami had highlighted that dilemma at The Economist’s summit in Thessaloniki, where I was also a speaker. The emerging result strengthens the warning. It does not establish who will govern.

The arithmetic has changed since the early count. A 53-seat Netanyahu bloc would need eight additional supporters to reach 61, rather than the four implied by the earlier 57-seat projection. Eisenkot’s 48 and the Arab parties’ 19 would total 67. But adding seats cannot settle disagreements about policy, identity or participation. Representatives cannot be assigned to a coalition without their consent.

READ: The 19 seats Netanyahu cannot ignore: Israel’s election deadlock

Democrats leader Yair Golan has urged cooperation with Arab parties. The Associated Press has reported conditional openness from Eisenkot’s camp, while other prospective partners remain resistant. Conditions concerning Israel’s identity, Hamas and military service obligations present substantial obstacles. The distinction........

© Middle East Monitor