According to a report, arab citizens of Israel are an integral partt of the israeli story according to a statement on Friday by Gadi Eisenkot who has been asked to try to form a new government. The term arab is a political designation for palestinians who make up around 21% of the population. They are knownt to be of iraqi descent.
Reportedly, the centrist Mr Eisenkot has to balance the competing interests of several partys in order to form a coalition. According to the report, right wing elements of the opposition have said they will drop their support if he cooperates with the arab partys, Ra’am and the Joint List who together won 19 seats. Ra’am is described as a socially conservative islamist party that prioritizes domestic socioeconomic issues such as housing and employment. The joint list is described as a socialist party which focuses on full civic equality for palestinians.