Odeh says Hadash-Ta’al not ‘officially’ in talks with other opposition parties

By Ariela Karmel

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23 February 2026, 4:08 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Hadash–Ta'al party chairman Ayman Odeh speaks during a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Hadash-Ta’al leader Ayman Odeh says that his Arab-majority party is not in talks with any other opposition parties “officially,” since the four Arab parties signed an agreement last month to work toward running together in the next election, set to be held later this year.

“Officially, we’re not talking. There could be some, here and there, informally,” he says in response to a question from The Times of Israel ahead of a faction meeting at the Knesset.

Since the communist Arab-majority party signed an agreement with the Islamist Ra’am, secularist Ta’al, and nationalist Balad parties, the possible merger has been projected to win between 12 and 15 seats, potentially making the Joint List one of the largest and most significant blocs in the Knesset, and making their support key to forming a government.

While Odeh states that the four parties will do all they can to bring down the current government, he does not express strong enthusiasm for the current opposition.

“This isn’t a real opposition. It’s not a normal opposition. It doesn’t present a real alternative to the government,” he says. “They aren’t sure of themselves. They aren’t sure of their path,” Odeh continues, adding that opposition parties “say one thing in closed rooms and another to the press.”

In contrast, the Hadash-Ta’al leader says that the “fascist right” is consistent and clear, and most notably, knows how to work together.

Within the right, he says, “there are Haredim, secular people, settlers and residents of Tel Aviv. I look at Haredi parties that know how to work with the Knesset speaker, with whom they disagree over what is best for the government, but they work together.”

“This opposition does not know how to work together,” Odeh emphasizes.

The opposition bloc is made up of a hodgepodge of various parties from the left-wing Democrats to centrist Yesh Atid to right-wing Yisrael Beytenu, many of whom have said they will not sit in a government with an Arab party, including frontrunner Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Lieberman and Blue and White head Benny Gantz.