News 222K views since yesterday

Arab parties' coalition leverage comes with conditions, BBC reports

The Global News Podcast examines what Arab-led parties would bring to an Eisenkot government, and why parliamentary arithmetic alone cannot secure their support.

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BBC News Story of October 31, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of BBC News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 222,296 views.

How Arab parties could decide Israel's election and Netanyahu's fate | Global News Podcast

Things we can learn from the video

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0:46The BBC reports that Netanyahu's bloc fell short of the parliamentary majority needed to govern.
2:05Balad's Dr Maha Sabbah says cooperation cannot be unconditional or come at the expense of Arab parties' principles.
3:09James Landale explains why opposition divisions and tensions following October 7 complicate an Arab-Jewish governing arrangement.
6:14Issam Ikramawi links increased Arab turnout to crime, crackdowns, house demolitions and political exclusion.
7:52Ikramawi distinguishes the Joint List from Mansour Abbas's Ra'am and their approaches to coalition support.

Cooperation with Gadi Eisenkot cannot come at the expense of Arab parties' principles, Balad politician Dr Maha Sabbah tells BBC News. Her intervention puts conditions, rather than simply seat totals, at the centre of the question of who could form Israel's next government.

The Global News Podcast episode adds a party representative's position and an explanation of increased Arab turnout to the post-election debate. According to the BBC's account, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc leads but lacks a parliamentary majority, while Eisenkot would need Arab-party support to assemble one.

In Tel Aviv, demonstrators call for a joint Arab-Jewish government. But diplomatic correspondent James Landale distinguishes that demand from the negotiations needed to deliver it. Opposition parties have indicated a willingness to talk, he reports, while divisions among them and tensions following October 7 remain substantial obstacles.

"The bar is high, but it's not impossible," Landale says.

BBC Arabic journalist Issam Ikramawi explains that the Arab-led parties are not a single political force with an identical approach to government. He contrasts the Joint List with Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, whose strategy has included participation in a governing coalition.

Ikramawi also connects increased turnout to concerns about rising crime, crackdowns, house demolitions and political exclusion. Those concerns help explain why voters mobilised, in his account, without settling which partnership their representatives would accept.

The episode drew about 222,000 views since yesterday. Its central distinction is between having the seats to make a government possible and agreeing on the terms under which to support it.