Amid talks about a possible early election triggered by the controversy over the exemption law from military service, interest is growing among Arab parties inside and outside the Knesset. In recent weeks, quiet negotiations have been underway to unite all the Arab parties: Ra’am, Hadash, Ta’al and Balad. The goal is to replicate the dramatic success of the Joint List in the March 2020 Knesset elections, when it won 15 seats.
Afterward, the Joint List dissolved, partly due to Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas’ decision to join a Zionist coalition. In the last elections, the far-left Balad party, which chose not to run with Hadash and Ta’al, failed to cross the electoral threshold, leaving the Arab factions with only 10 seats.
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Leaders of the Arab parties: Ahmad Tibi, Sami Abu Shehadeh, Ayman Odeh, Mansour Abbas
(Photo: Reuters, Yair Sagi, Yuval Chen, Dana Kopel)
Following discussions over the past year about Ra’am no longer being part of a Zionist coalition and concerns over losing seats due to the Joint List’s split, the Arab party leaders began quiet talks about reuniting the Joint List.
All the Arab party leaders support such a move, though Balad remains hesitant about partnering again with Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am, viewing him as “too moderate.” Sources within the Arab factions confirmed to ynet details of the negotiations, some of which were previously reported by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth a few weeks ago.
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Knesset member Ahmad Tibi (Hadash-Ta’al) confirmed Tuesday in an interview with Knesset Channel that talks are ongoing to reestablish the Joint List with all four parties. “We are working to reestablish the Joint List with all four parties. Such a list will ensure increased voter turnout among Arab voters, and thus we can oust the government of Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir,” he said. Tibi added that such a union would bring the Arab parties 15 seats.