The Joint Arab List, representing Israeli Palestinians, made historic gains in Israel’s election securing 15 out of 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, preventing Prime Minister Netanyahu from gaining a majority.
The Joint Arab List has secured its position as the third-largest party in response an overtly racist campaign waged by Netanyahu’s campaign which was flagged by Facebook for hate speech.
There are approximately 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel and one in five Israeli’s are of Arab ethnicity however they have had historically low turnout however this changed on Monday as 64.7 per cent of Arab Israelis voted in the election.
This in part was spurred by the recent manoeuvres by the US to create a “peace plan” which annexe illegally occupied territories and seek population transfers.
Read more here: Palestinians protest Trumps Middle East plan
The New York Times further reports that 20,000 Jewish civilians also voted in favour of the Joint Arab List and may have gained the party an additional seat.
Read more from the New York Times, Al Jazeera and the Guardian.
