Leaders of Arab parties agree to keep talks going on Joint List reunification

Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Leaders of the Hadash, Ta'al, Ra'am, and Balad parties meet in Nazareth, August 11, 2025. (Courtesy)
Leaders of the Hadash, Ta'al, Ra'am, and Balad parties meet in Nazareth, August 11, 2025. (Courtesy)

Following a meeting in Nazareth to discuss reviving a united bloc ahead of the next elections, the leaders of Israel’s four Arab parties state that they have “agreed to continue talks to re-establish the Joint List.”

“The leaders emphasized that their goal is to prevent the return of the extreme right-wing government, and to strengthen [their] political power and the ability to exert influence in the parliamentary and political arenas as well,” a statement released by the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party states.

Hadash-Ta’al leaders met with representatives of Mansour Abbas’s Islamist United Arab List (Ra’am) party as well as the secular nationalist Balad faction to discuss recreating the alliance, which had previously boosted Arab turnout at the polls and representation in the Knesset.

“At the meeting, which was held in an open and honest atmosphere, the differences between the parties were discussed, and it was agreed to continue an intensive dialogue in the near future,” the statement continues.

It adds that the parties are focused on “responding to the pressing needs of Arab society, including the fight against racism and crime, dealing with the consequences of the war, and striving to end the war and promote a just political solution to the Palestinian issue.”

The Joint List split due to internal fighting in 2021 when Ra’am broke away, and it collapsed the following year ahead of the 2022 election.

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