MK Dr. Mansour Abbas, chairman of the United Arab List (Ra'am), has outlined the conditions under which his party could become the decisive force needed to complete the coalition that forms Israel's next government.
In a Facebook post, Abbas said two conditions must be met. The first is the establishment of a message and course of action that strengthen Ra'am's standing and legitimacy among both Arab and Jewish voters as a legitimate coalition partner.
According to Abbas, that condition has already been met, citing public opinion polls that he said show roughly 70 percent of voters from Jewish opposition parties support a "government of change" with Ra'am as a coalition partner. He added that more than 70 percent of Arab voters also support such a move.
The second condition, Abbas wrote, is for Ra'am to increase its representation to seven Knesset seats in the next election, enabling the party to serve as the balance of power. He argued that opinion polls indicate the right-wing bloc is currently ten seats short of a governing majority, while a "change bloc," together with Ra'am, could form a coalition commanding 64 to 65 seats.
Based on that assessment, Abbas said Ra'am's primary objective is to secure at least seven seats in the upcoming election. He argued that such a result would create a blocking majority capable of bringing down the current right-wing government and preventing Benjamin Netanyahu from toppling the "government of change" that he believes could be formed after the elections.
The remarks come after talks between Ra'am and the three other Arab parties on forming a joint electoral list collapsed. Ra'am now appears set to contest the elections independently.