One of the biggest surprises of the Israeli elections was the success of the two Arab-led political parties, Raam and the Joint List. They collectively won 19 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament.

Raam is an Islamist party and the Joint List is an alliance of three factions that includes leftists and Palestinian nationalists.

Raam has sought to gain acceptance from other opposition parties in Israel by putting less emphasis on the plight of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and focusing more on issues plaguing Arab citizens of Israel, like violent crime and discriminatory housing policies.

While the Joint List has also fought for the rights of Arab citizens of Israel, it frequently criticizes Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and has called itself “a genuine democratic alternative to the racist Zionist consensus.”

The outcome of the voting excited many Arab voters, and both parties have said they are willing to work with the Israeli opposition in taking down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. But many members of the Jewish-led opposition have ruled out cooperating with the Arab parties to form a new government, and strongly object to a number of their views. Many Israelis fear Arab parties wielding influence over foreign affairs and security issues, and disagree on how to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Here is a look at the positions of the Joint List — an alliance of the Hadash, Balad and Taal parties — and Raam.