Arab MKs decline Arab League invite

Arab-Israeli lawmakers declined an invitation by the Arab League for a meeting in its Cairo headquarters in order to focus on more urgent issues facing Israel’s Arab community.

After several hours of deliberations, the Joint (Arab) List said Monday that it had decided to turn down the invitation because of timing, but would reconsider it in the future.

Haaretz reported, however, that the decision was made to avoid a possible pushback by constituents for focusing on foreign affairs rather than the more urgent domestic issues facing Arab-Israelis.

While the MKs discussed the invitation, differences of opinion emerged over the role the party would play in regional politics, specifically in light of the situations in Syria and Yemen, the report noted.

On Saturday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas publicly relayed the invitation to party leader Ayman Odeh, and said that all members of the Joint List were invited to the group’s headquarters in Cairo and to a meeting of its council in Doha, Qatar.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a meeting with Odeh in an effort to reconcile with the Arab community after posting an incendiary campaign video on Election Day.

Odeh confirmed the invitation and indicated that he would take the prime minister up on his offer. He said his party would use the meeting to object to home demolitions, push for recognition of Bedouin towns in the Negev, and advance his equality plan for Israel’s Arab citizens.

The Joint List garnered a strong 13 seats in the March 17 elections, making it the third-largest party in the Knesset after Likud, with 30, and the Zionist Union, with 24.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.