Israeli Exit Polls Show No Clear Winner as Arab Parties Make Gains

28 Oct 2026, 00:09 by Kosta Papadopoulos · Greek City Times

Israeli election exit polls suggest no clear winner, with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc narrowly ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc, while Arab parties record gains amid a strong turnout push in Arab communities.

Mahdi Kabaha, a 29-year-old lawyer from the predominantly Arab northern town of Umm al-Fahm, campaigned to encourage Arab citizens to vote. He described the election night as historic, saying Arab society had demonstrated its presence and its right to influence political decisions.

Arab citizens account for about one-fifth of Israel’s electorate, but just over half voted in the previous election, according to the report. Kabaha said some Arab voters had previously avoided elections because they did not want to legitimise Israeli institutions.

He urged the community to use its electoral influence to change the government and remove far-right ministers, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Crime in Arab communities and what Kabaha described as insufficient policing were among the main issues driving voters’ concerns.

Kabaha argued that political differences between Democratic Party leader Yair Golan and Ben-Gvir demonstrated why participation mattered. He contrasted their positions on Palestinian displacement and a possible two-state solution, saying voters had a choice between competing approaches to the conflict.

The exit polls indicate gains for Arab parties, although the final distribution of seats and the formation of a governing coalition will depend on the official results.

(Source: BBC)

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