In-depth survey of the Arab community in Israel following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire shows:
- 76.6% report a weak sense of personal security, mainly due to widespread violence and crime in Arab villages.
- 73.4% say their economic situation is fairly good—the highest level recorded during the war period.
- 74.6% believe that relations between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel have deteriorated over the past two years as a result of the war.
- 64.6% believe in Arab–Jewish political partnership, and 77.4% support the inclusion of an Arab party in the governing coalition after the next elections.
- Voter turnout among Arab citizens is expected to reach 52.4% if parties run separately; however, re-establishing the Joint List could raise turnout to 61.8% and secure approximately 15.5 Knesset seats.
- 47.3% consider the two-state solution to be the most realistic resolution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Main Findings:
If elections for the Knesset were held today, the expected voter turnout in the Arab sector would be 52.4%, similar to that in the elections for the 25th Knesset (53.2%) held in November 2022. In this scenario, Hadash–Ta'al (5.3 seats) and Ra'am (3.9 seats) are expected to pass the electoral threshold, while Balad is not (2.6 seats). However, if the Joint List were re-established as a consolidation of the four Arab parties—as it existed in the past (Hadash, Ta'al, Ra'am, and Balad)—the expected voter turnout in the Arab sector would jump to 61.8%, and the Joint List could win 15.5 seats.
An overwhelming majority of the Arab public (76.6%) report feeling a weak sense of personal security. The main factor they cite is the high number of violent incidents in Arab towns (51.9%), alongside concerns about the outbreak of a new war in the region (14.2%), the situation of the Palestinians in Gaza (11.3%), and economic distress (10%). In contrast, a large majority (73.4%) of survey participants report that their economic situation is relatively good—the highest rate reported in surveys conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Program during the war.
A large majority of the respondents (74.6%) stated that relations between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel have deteriorated over the past two years due to the war; 45.8% even noted that relations have deteriorated significantly. 37.5% of respondents said that their sense of belonging to the state has weakened over the past two years because of the war. At the same time, 50.8% said that the war did not affect their feelings toward the state one way or the other.
A majority of the Arab public (64.6% of respondents) believe in Arab–Jewish political cooperation, but only 44.7% think that the Jewish public actually supports such cooperation.
About half of the Arab public (47.3%) believe that the most realistic solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is two states based on the 1967 boundaries. Only 14% believe the most realistic solution is one state from the river to the sea for both Israelis and Palestinians, and 8.5% advocate a regional solution with international mediation. In contrast, 21% of respondents believe that no political solution is on the horizon.
A large majority (77.4%) support the participation of an Arab party in the government formed after the next elections: 45.6% support joining any government that is formed, while 31.8% support joining a center-left government. These figures are similar to the findings of earlier surveys conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Program during the war.
An overwhelming majority of the respondents (74%) stated that the most important issue for the Arab public is to address the problem of violence and crime. Other notable issues are resolving the Palestinian issue (7.6%) and the regulation of planning and construction in Arab towns (7%).
A large proportion of the respondents (39.7%) believe that the institution most capable of addressing the problem of violence and crime in Arab society is the government, while 22.3% believe it to be the police. 25% of the respondents believe that parents and immediate family are the ones best able to address the problem.
With regard to what determines the personal identity of Arab citizens, two responses stand out: Arab identity (35.9%) and Israeli citizenship (31.7%). Two additional factors are religious affiliation (17.3%) and Palestinian identity (14.7%).