Joint List accuses Netanyahu of inciting against Arab voters, vows to defeat him at ballot box

By Ariela Karmel

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Today, 3:51 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen attends a press conference presenting the party’s work plan for the next Knesset in Haifa, northern Israel, ahead of the national election, October 20, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

The Arab-majority Joint List party and its leader Yousef Jabareen accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of inciting against Arab citizens and questioning their right to influence Israeli politics.

“Netanyahu, you continue to incite against Arab citizens and question our legitimacy to vote and influence the political map,” Jabareen says. “The Arab public knows how to punish you today and send you and your blood-soaked government home.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that Arab voters in the south are “racing to the ballots” and claimed that “they are trying to steal the election from us,” while urging Likud supporters to turn out. His rhetoric echoes a familiar campaign trope that casts Arab participation as a threat to the country’s Jewish character.

The Joint List says Netanyahu is also circulating AI-generated images that he presents as if they were taken at polling stations in Sakhnin and the Negev. The party says they are intended to incite against Arab voters and discourage its supporters from voting.

Contrary to the premier’s claims, Jabareen asserts that turnout in Jewish communities remains higher than in Arab communities, but calls on supporters to turn out in the remaining hours.

“We will do everything we can to send you and the Kahanists home by the end of the day,” he vows, referring to followers of slain Jewish supremacist rabbi Meir Kahane.

Long lines and slow identification processes have been reported in some Arab communities, drawing accusations of an intentional attempt to interrupt voting.