Arab parties claim kingmaker status in Israel elections

File photo: Yousef Jabareen, leader of Israel's Arab-led Joint List political alliance, (Centre-L) and other members cheer at the alliance's campaign headquarters Israel's Arab parties appear to secure a record number of seats in parliament and could emerge as kingmakers after strong turnout in Tuesday's election. Vote tallies show the two main Arab parties on course to win around 19 seats, nearly double their current representation in the Knesset. The two main parties are Yousef Jabareen-led Joint List and Ra'am, led by Mansour Abbas.Yousef Jabareen, the leader of the Arab-dominated Joint List, said his party would seek to use its projected 12 seats "to facilitate getting rid of Netanyahu's govt and hopefully helping to change the political situation in Israel". Jabareen said the Joint List could not join an Eisenkot-led govt because of its support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza and occupation of southern Lebanon. But he left open the possibility of bolstering Eisenkot's bloc from the outside, propping up a minority govt that could survive confidence votes. "We have our demands to protect our community, to advance the rights of our community and to promote equality for our...