With a higher-than-expected voter turnout of at least 60% in the Arab sector, the Joint Arab List is poised to have around 12 seats after all votes are tallied.
After the initial exit polls were announced Tuesday night, Joint Arab List chairman Ayman Odeh announced, "Once again, we have united and managed to get to 13 [the highest estimate] seats and become the third-largest faction in the Knesset."
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
"[Prime Minister] Netanyahu incited against us and led to a dramatic rise in voter turnout in our sector. This is election drama because we are now a force that comprises a real alternative to the political map in Israel," Odeh said.
"Our votes prevented Netanyahu from establishing a government. That's something historic."
Odeh's party colleague MK Ahmad Tibi said the Joint Arab List would not join any coalition or government with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.
"When it comes to blocking [a coalition], we'll sit down in the next few days and decide what to do," Tibi said.
"The Netanyahu era is over, and his fate is either to go home or go to prison. And we'll just say, 'the deal of the century' no longer exists," Tibi continued.
According to reports, voting in Israeli Arab communities went fairly smoothly, despite predictions of violence and potential voter fraud.
