Skip to main content

Arab parties stand to gain from political chaos in Israel

The Arab Joint List seeks to boost its number of seats in the Israeli Knesset in the March election by increasing turnout in the Arab community, with the ultimate goal of dealing a fatal blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, preventing him from forming a government.
(L to R) Ofer Cassif, Jewish member and candidate for the Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) party that is part of the Joint List alliance, applauds with Heba Yazbak, member and candidate for the Balad (National Democratic Alliance) party as Osama Saadi, member and candidate for the Arab Movement for Change (Taal) party raises his hands together with Balad party member and candidate Mtanes Shehadeh, Hadash's chairman and candidate Ayman Odeh, Taal's leader and candidate Ahmad Tibi, Hadash's me
Read in 

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel has set March 2 for its next legislative election, which will be its third in less than a year. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, passed a bill Dec. 12 to dissolve itself, though it retains authority until a new election is held.

Israel had held an election in April 2019, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to gain a consensus to form his government, which prompted the Knesset to dissolve itself and head for a second election, on Sept. 17, 2019. The Blue and White party led by Benny Gantz, and Netanyahu's Likud party, obtained almost the same number of seats in the September election and also failed to form a government.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.