MK Ayman Odeh, who heads the Joint List Party which is now made up of the Arab parties of Hadash and Ta’al, on Saturday held an election conference in the city of Tayibe.
In a speech at the event, Odeh said that the political system in Israel is in a historic crisis that was reflected in five election campaigns over the course of three years.
In this context, Odeh stressed that the Arab public must not wave a white flag but rather impose itself on the political system by force.
The Arab public, he said, faces two options - choosing a leadership that is willing to cooperate with any political party (a reference to the Ra’am Party headed by Mansour Abbas) or choosing a "brave" leadership (meaning the Joint List) that presents an uncompromising message.
Odeh formulated this message as follows: "Either you respect our people and respect the demands of our people or we all go to a sixth election. Either you respect us or the crisis deepens."
The Joint List has set conditions for supporting a candidate for Prime Minister, including the opening of serious diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and the repeal of the Nationality Law. MK Ahmed Tibi (Ta'al) has noted that there would be additional conditions.