1.  At no point throughout his coalition negotiations did Barak consider the Arab parties as potential partners.

2.  The Labour-led government had also secured the passive support of five Knesset members from two Arab parties, Hadash and the Arab Democratic Party.

3.  Arab ruling parties, with cash and patronage in their gift, can usually win without cheating, though to be safe they usually cheat too.

4.  Arab parties have been conspicuously left out of government coalitions.

5.  But forming alliances with Arab parties has been a polarizing decision for past Labor leaders, and it is one that Barak, intent on unity, might avoid.

6.  He could reshape the coalition as a narrow minority government that depends on Arab parties for majority votes on peacemaking issues, which is the most likely.

7.  He was planning to meet this week with the leaders of the Arab parties.

8.  Labor and the Arab parties, together with Shas, voted for the Bibi bill.

9.  Ten are members of several Arab parties, a disorganized and fractured lot.

10.  The Jewish majority has never invited the Arab parties to become part of a governing coalition and no Arab has ever served in the cabinet.