Arab parties set to discuss potentially reuniting into Joint List bloc

The four Arab parties — Hadash, Ra;am, Ta’al and Balad — are set to meet tomorrow to discuss reviving the Joint List bloc ahead of the next elections, with the question of leadership shaping the talks, according to a source close to the joint Jewish-Arab party Hadash.

The party is insisting that former Hadash MK Yousef Jabarin, who is expected to win Hadash’s October primaries, lead the list.

Jabarin is well-known within the Arab community as an active political figure and is seen as a fresh, “statesmanlike” alternative to outgoing Hadash leader Ayman Odeh, who was recently almost expelled from the Knesset, although he is less well-known than Odeh among Jewish voters.

Meanwhile, the source says that Islamist Ra’am party’s Mansour Abbas and Ta’al’s Ahmad Tibi are willing to compromise on the leadership of the list to keep the alliance intact, though leaders want the Joint List to remain merely a technical alliance to allow them the option to split after the elections and join a governing coalition separately.

As a result, Abbas, who may also step down from the leadership of the party, is reportedly insisting on at least five seats on the combined list in order to preserve Ra’am’s political influence and coalition potential.

The source says that the meeting follows Balad’s recent agreement to rejoin the Joint List, albeit with “ideological” conditions. The secular-nationalist party is demanding that the list define clear red lines on the war, the current government and any future coalition.

However, Balad’s position is largely symbolic, the source says, since, having failed to enter the Knesset in the last election, the party lacks leverage and knows it cannot run independently due to legal disqualification and funding shortages. Realistically, Balad is seeking two seats within the list.