NEW: Hadash and Joint List welcome strong election result, call for action to remove Netanyahu government

In the 27 October 2026 Knesset election, the Hadash-led Joint List was projected to win 12 seats, a substantial increase from the six seats won by Hadash–Ta’al in 2022. The separate United Arab List (Ra’am) was also projected to win seven seats, bringing the combined representation of the two lists to around 19 seats. Final counting was still under way when the first post-election assessments appeared.

The results followed a campaign focused on removing Netanyahu’s government, opposing racism and discrimination, ending the occupation, promoting peace and equality, and strengthening Jewish-Arab partnership. In its post-election coverage, Zo Haderekh, the newspaper associated with Maki and Hadash, described the Joint List’s performance as the election’s major surprise. It credited the campaign with mobilising Arab voters and attracting support from Jewish voters in several cities.

The newspaper reported that the preliminary seat distribution left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats, against 48 for the principal Jewish-led opposition parties. Together with the 19 seats projected for the Joint List and Ra’am, this left an arithmetic path to an alternative government—but one dependent on political cooperation that several opposition leaders had resisted. 

Ofer Cassif: “Now or never”

Hadash MK and Communist Party member Ofer Cassif called on the opposition to act on the election result rather than allow Netanyahu to remain in office. In a statement quoted by Zo Haderekh, Cassif said: “It’s now or never: the removal of the government of malice and the beginning of rectification, or the continuation of the horrors of the last four years.”

Cassif added that his side was committed to change and challenged the opposition bloc to rise to the occasion, concluding that “the ball is in its court.”

His intervention reflects the immediate priority articulated by Hadash and Maki: to translate the loss of Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority into a change of government. At the same time, the parties’ broader programme goes beyond replacing the prime minister, encompassing opposition to the occupation and racism, equality for Arab citizens, social justice and a political settlement with the Palestinians. 

Yousef Jabareen: support for an alternative, but not a blank cheque

Yousef Jabareen, Hadash leader and head of the Joint List, told Reuters that the list would use its projected 12 seats to help remove Netanyahu’s government and change the political situation. He left open the possibility of supporting a minority government led by opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot from outside the coalition.

Jabareen ruled out joining an Eisenkot-led government, citing its support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the occupation of southern Lebanon. He said that any political arrangement must address the rights and needs of Arab citizens, including the fight against escalating crime, increased investment and opportunities in Arab communities, and renewed peace negotiations towards a Palestinian state.

The position follows the Joint List’s pre-election offer to provide a parliamentary “safety net” to an alternative government, while insisting that its support would require negotiations and commitments rather than unconditional backing. The distinction is important: the list has indicated that it is prepared to help replace Netanyahu without endorsing the policies of the parties that might lead a successor government. 

Will the opposition negotiate with the Joint List or Ra'am?

The post-election debate has exposed a contradiction in the opposition’s position. The preliminary figures leave Netanyahu’s bloc short of a majority, while the principal Jewish-led opposition parties cannot reach 61 seats without support from the Joint List or Ra'am or defections from other blocs.

Nevertheless, Eisenkot had ruled out forming a government with Arab parties during the campaign, while other opposition figures have also resisted relying on them. Zo Haderekh argued on 28 October that the Joint List and Ra’am must be included in negotiations if the opposition intends to use its combined numbers to replace Netanyahu. The newspaper urged opposition leaders to abandon the exclusion of Arab representatives and negotiate with both lists.