While the Likud party may have made a stronger than expected showing in the tightly fought Israeli election, a bigger surprise has been the performance by the so-called Joint LIst.

It’s made up of an alliance of Arab Israeli parties and has emerged in third place.

While unlikely to join a government they might give a centre-left coalition tacit support and create a bloc against Netanyahu.

“Our people never break a promise,” said Ayman Odeh, the Head of the Joint List. “We had an increase in the percentage of votes more than any time in the last 15 years. This is a big achievement for our people. We are the surprise of these elections. We will be the third power in the parliament. With our hands we will prevent the right-wing parties from forming the coming government.”

Many Arab Israelis believe they are treated as second-class citizens and see the newfound political unity as an important step and tool towards fighting what they see as discrimination.

After the final results