Ra'am Rules Out Post-Election Cooperation With Likud

Ra'am lawmaker Walid Taha said there is no chance his party will cooperate with Likud after the election, even if Benjamin Netanyahu parts ways with his right-wing partners. In an interview with the Arabic-language outlet Kul Al-Arab, Taha said Ra'am categorically rejects any political cooperation with Likud after the vote.

Taha also accused Hadash secretary Amjad Shbita of blocking Ra'am's entry into an Arab joint list. He argued that instead of claiming Ra'am was coordinating its moves with Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman, Hadash could have simply said it did not intend to join them.

Addressing the difficulty of forming a joint slate for all Arab parties, Taha said the goal is not a joint list for its own sake, but to serve Arab society through such a list if it can be built. He added that Arab voters must go out and vote, whether there is one joint list or two Arab lists.

Taha also said MK Ahmad Tibi of Ta'al supported a pluralistic joint list and did not place obstacles in its way.