Dr. Yousef Jabareen, who was elected this week to lead the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), is showing willingness to run in the elections as part of a joint list of Arab parties.
In an interview with Kul al-Arab, Jabareen said that negotiations to form a joint list are ongoing, and that Hadash approved the first draft and added comments.
He stressed that "the joint list is what the street (public) demands and we must listen to the people," but estimated that a true union of Arab parties is not possible at the current stage.
Jabareen further stated that the United Arab List (Ra'am)'s participation in the previous Bennett-Lapid government did not yield significant achievements, and noted that participation in the government means taking legal responsibility for decisions such as the law preventing the reunification of Palestinian Authority citizens with Israeli family members, or the decision to go to war.
"After the elections, we will consider the options, without forgoing national principles. I believe that a joint list with 15 seats, whether in the opposition or as a blocking coalition, will allow us to obtain a lot for our society, as long as we have political weight, and by participating in Knesset committees," Jabareen stated.
At the same time, the Palestinian Arab nationalist Balad party announced for the first time officially that it would agree to the formation of a joint list as a technical bloc together with Ra’am, Hadash, and Ta’al. The announcement comes as part of ongoing talks and preparations among the Arab parties ahead of the upcoming elections.