Israel's Religious Zionist Party Rules Out Any Support From United Arab List

"A right-wing government will not be established that is based on Mansour Abbas' Ra'am Party [Israeli name for the United Arab List party]. Period. Not from within, not from outside, not through abstaining, and not through any other Isra-bluff", Bezalel Smotrich wrote on Facebook, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post.

He went on to argue that "terrorism supporters who deny the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state are not legitimate partners for any government."

A senior member of the religious Shas party, Itzik Cohen, in turn, disagreed with Smotrich and accused him of extremism, the newspaper noted.

With final results of Tuesday's general election yet to be announced, preliminary figures suggest that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his opponents managed to garner enough seats to form a government unilaterally, thus repeating the deadlock that has gripped the country over the past two years.

The situation makes smaller parties like the Islamic United Arab List and the hardline Religious Zionist Party possible kingmakers in future coalition talks.