The Arabs Won the Election

At the time of writing, the extent of Qatar’s role in the 2026 Israeli general election remains unclear. Did Qatar engage in electoral bribery? If so, whom did it pay, and on what scale? If the Shin Bet (Israel’s domestic security service) had advance intelligence, why did it fail to prevent it? As I understand it, in a properly functioning democracy, the head of the domestic intelligence service, whose responsibilities include safeguarding internal security and protecting the foundations of democracy, should be responsible for countering foreign interference in electoral integrity. If David Zini, the head of the Shin Bet, does not understand this, what exactly is he doing in the job? Why should the chair of the Central Elections Committee, Justice Noam Solberg, writes to him demanding an investigation into these suspicions?

The answer, at least in my view, is clear: Justice Solberg is obligated to submit a formal request. Otherwise, should it eventually emerge that electoral bribery did occur, he could be accused of failing to fulfill his duties. If Likud party and/or any other political actor possesses information or evidence giving rise to suspicions of such interference, the Shin Bet has a duty to investigate and establish whether the allegations are true or unfounded. If this is the situation, and at present, it is, why did Zini declare on election day that the elections were proceeding normally and without incident?

With that opening, let us examine what the results of the 2026 Knesset election tell us, assuming they are lawful, genuine, and neither falsified nor influenced by foreign or other outside actors.

First, let us remove the mask of hypocrisy worn by the Jewish majority in Israel. Are you really surprised by the electoral success of the Arab parties, even without any Qatari money changing hands? If so, why? Try putting yourselves in the position of Arab citizens of Israel. For four years, they have been subjected to hatred, incitement, and racism from ministers in the Israeli government, with the backing of the prime minister. On election day, their moment of reckoning, they went to the polls to express their judgment of the government that had been in office since January 2023. And they did so emphatically, on an unprecedented scale. Nineteen Knesset seats would represent a record since 1948. The credit for such an achievement should go to Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who have humiliated Arab society in recent years.

In this sense, even the Arab public’s longstanding criticism of its own elected representatives for failing to meet their obligations to their constituents was pushed aside in favour of a more immediate desire to defend their dignity and citizenship, and to send a message to Israel’s political leadership.

If you do not believe me, that is your prerogative. But pay attention to the statements made by Arab political leaders since the election results became known.

They are declaring that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister. They have no interest in another four years under a racist government.

This position, incidentally, is not new. In March 2020, Arab citizens turned out in large numbers after Donald Trump unveiled his “Deal of the Century,” which proposed transferring the city of Umm al-Fahm to the territory of the Palestinian Authority. The turnout made clear that Arab citizens wanted to remain citizens of Israel and expected the state to treat them accordingly. Unfortunately for them, the change government lasted only a year and a half, which was far too little time to implement substantial reforms.

Let us now examine the Netanyahu government’s policies and actions toward Arab citizens of Israel between 2023 and 2026. My central argument is that this was the worst Israeli government for Arab citizens in the country’s history. Its record was marked by racism, contempt for Arab citizens, and disregard for their needs. Crime in Arab communities spiralled, murder rates rose significantly, home demolitions became a recurring phenomenon, and the police adopted a tougher approach toward Arab citizens. The Arab vote in the 2026 election was a protest vote against a Netanyahu government that ignored Arab citizens, humiliated them, and made them feel like second-class citizens. The question of citizenship and the desire to belong to Israeli society deserves serious consideration.

Mansour Abbas, a politician with a religious outlook shaped by his upbringing in the Muslim Brotherhood, made a strategic choice to prioritize the advancement of Arab society across a broad range of civic issues. This approach helped him win election to the Knesset several times and gradually advance some of those priorities. It was also the central message of the United Arab List (Ra’am) in the run-up to the 2026 election.

There was nothing surprising about that. The surprise came from the Arab Joint List. It, too, recognized that if it wanted to remain politically relevant, it had to focus on civic concerns, above all the fight against crime and violence, reducing economic disparities, and improving public services, while continuing to address the Palestinian national question publicly.

The hatred, humiliation, and contempt directed at Arab citizens by the Netanyahu government, led most conspicuously by Ben-Gvir, crossed a red line for the Arab public. As in 2020, but even more forcefully in 2026, Arab citizens turned out in large numbers and delivered a message to Jewish Israelis and their politicians: no more. We want civil equality, even if the state retains its Jewish character.

What is striking is that Netanyahu appears not to have learned the lesson. Since 2015, he has repeatedly stoked hostility toward Arab citizens in election campaigns, apparently relying on the assumption that fear or despair would keep them away from the polls. That barrier of fear was breached in 2020 and collapsed again in 2026. Why? Because Arab citizens of Israel, who have grown up in a democratic society, also hold basic values of human dignity. When the government treats them with contempt, they respond at the ballot box.

The current achievement of 19 seats, if confirmed, would once again demonstrate to Arab representatives a lesson they should have learned long ago: work for Arab population. Combine that demand with the government’s treatment of Arab citizens, and the result is a high turnout.

As for Israel’s Zionist parties, and particularly our own elected representatives, consider the following paradox. The state wants to integrate the ultra-Orthodox, many of whom do not want to integrate, or want to do so only on their own terms. Most Arab citizens, by contrast, want to integrate into the state, yet the state fails to integrate them because they are “Arabs.”

Let me recall an important historical lesson: Mansour Abbas has already served in a governing coalition. How much damage did he do to the state? Did he tear Israeli society apart? If he supports terrorism, why has he not been arrested? The smears circulated against him by those wishing him harm have not succeeded in achieving their purpose.

My position on this matter is clear: anyone who engages in terrorism, is involved in terrorist activity, has links to terrorism, or even gives rise to credible suspicions of involvement must be investigated and, where the evidence warrants it, prosecuted. This applies to members of the Knesset as well; in such circumstances, their parliamentary immunity should be lifted. The case of Basel Ghattas, a former Knesset member representing Balad who was convicted in a case involving the smuggling of mobile phones to Palestinian security prisoners, demonstrates that action can indeed be taken when there is a substantiated case.

One more point: if Arab citizens are welcome to serve us in hospitals, pharmacies, hotels, public transportation, waste collection, vehicle repair shops and even in the high-tech sector, why can they not also be part of a government that seeks to improve their lives as citizens? Where does this deep-seated fear within Jewish Israeli society of integrating Arab citizens come from?

After all, it was Ze’ev Jabotinsky who supported the idea that an Arab should serve as deputy prime minister of Israel. I am not suggesting that we go that far today. But did the state suffer any harm when Ghaleb Majadlla served as a cabinet minister, or when Oscar Abu Razaq served as director-general of the Interior Ministry?

Ultimately, Arab citizens won the 2026 election. In Israel’s political reality, anyone seeking to form a government must consider Arab or ultra-Orthodox parties as potential coalition partners. Without these two sectors, the only alternative is a national unity government. If that is what happens, however, the Arab public will not have truly won.

The next government, if one is formed, would be well advised to seek ways to advance civic issues that matter to Jews, Arabs, and other minorities alike. Campaigns of hatred may be an effective electoral tactic, but when the campaign ends and the hatred remains, the result is a recipe for deeper divisions, hostility, exclusion, and alienation. These, in turn, can translate into unrest and protests that no one should welcome.