Husania Jabara, 41, from the predominantly Muslim Israeli-Arab town of Taibe, said she wanted to fight for equality both for women and for Israeli Arabs.

``I hope that my presence in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) will help the Arab population in Israel get equal rights to Jews,'' said Jabara, who won election for the dovish Meretz Party.

``I intend to fight with might for Arabs and for women, for equality and justice,'' she told AFP.

``I am so happy to be the first Arab woman in the Knesset, I think I made history and I feel great. I hope to live up to all the expectations now,'' she said.

Jabara, who describes herself as an Arab-Palestinian-Israeli woman, was born to poor parents, both farmers, who grew vegetables for a living and struggled to feed their 13children.

Education is her main field of interest and she says the first thing she wants to do as an MP is to ensure free education in nursery schools and universities. Education is currently only free in Israel between the ages of six and 18.

Two of Jabara's three children study in predominately Jewish towns -- Siwar, 19, is an architecture student in the coastal town of Herzliya and Abdel Rahim, 16, attends secondary school in Kfar Saba, a Jewish town near Taibe -- because the school in his Arab home town is not good enough, his mother says.

``There are not enough state funds for Arab schools and we in Meretz are going to change that,'' Jabara said.

``Meretz have always done a lot for the Arabs when they were in power and now they can do more.''

Jabara is the director of the Middle Eastern Studies department at the Left-wing Beit Berl University and she is completing a masters degree in management at Bar-Ilan university.

She is married to Fathi, a driving instructor, who she describes as themost understanding and supportive man in the world.

``It was Fathi's idea that I should stand for the Knesset, he pushed me to do it and then supported me standing beside me throughout my entire campaign.''

Jabara is very appreciative of the support she receives from family and friends. On the day AFP interviewed her, she said she had received 159 messages of support. She says her family taught her that Islam encourages women to be independent and always encouraged her to fulfil her ambitions in life.

``I was brought up on the notion that there is no conflict between Islam and women entering politics,'' Jabara said.

``The wife of the Prophet Mohammad was a merchant and involved in politics, Islam gave women freedom and independence, and there are lots of verses of the Koran that support women.''

When asked why she chose to run on the Meretz list, Jabara said it was the only party prepared to give an Arab woman candidate sufficient support to get elected.

The proof, she said, lay in her success onMonday.

``Many Arab women have tried to enter the Knesset with other parties, but Meretzis the only party that gives real support and backing to candidates like myself,'' she said.

In Monday's election, Meretz won 10 of the 120 seats in parliament.

MPs are elected under a system of proportional representation under which the whole of Israel votes as one constituency. Arabs form about one sixth of Israel's six million inhabitants.