MK Waleed Alhwashla of the Ra’am party, which represents the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, is calling for the completion of negotiations to form a joint Arab list ahead of the next Knesset elections.
In a video statement published in Arabic, Alhwashla said that recent political developments - namely the formation of the Bennett-Lapid alliance - should encourage the Arab parties to pursue a similar move.
He added that Ra’am has proposed creating a technical and pluralistic joint list that would unite all Arab parties for the election campaign, with decisions on future political cooperation to be made afterward.
Alhwashla emphasized that the primary goal is to become an “influential political force" and help replace the current government with another one in which Arab parties would be able to shape decision-making.
He added that a united Arab political bloc would be able to influence who becomes prime minister, who sits in the opposition, and who shapes national policy - including on issues important to the Arab public, such as violence and crime, house demolitions, and what he described as “extremism and racism" in Israel.
The leaders of the Arab parties in January signed a document committing them to work toward re-establishing the Joint List ahead of the next elections. However, no final agreement has been reached on the actual formation of the slate.
The Joint List was originally established in 2015, bringing together Hadash, Ta’al, Ra’am, and Balad. At its peak in the 2020 elections, it won 15 seats - a record achievement for Arab party representation in the Knesset.