United Arab List (Ra'am) party Chairman MK Mansour Abbas said on Saturday evening that the four members of his party would vote in favor of the current state budget. He noted that the decision to approve the budget on Sunday will also be accompanied by a five-year plan for economic assistance to Israel's Arab sector.
"It is difficult for me to say what is the top priority in the budget for Arab society, apart from one issue - the eradication of crime," he said. "The secret of the coalition's success is to maintain the basic principle that what is agreed between the parties is actively promoted, and what is not agreed is discussed and resolved, or put aside."
Regarding the bill to decriminalize cannabis, led by MK Sharren Haskel (New Hope) and defeated by the UAL's opposition, Abbas said: "MK Haskel and I are discussing both this and other issues."
In the same breath, Abbas rejected reports of her desire to impose coalition discipline on him.
Abbas added that his party "opposes the worship by Jews on the Temple Mount. The status quo must be maintained."
He added that "if the Joint List wants to promote an initiative, it knows who to call in the coalition. The UAL has reached out to them."