Hadash Announces It Is Advancing a Joint List Without Ra'am

Talks to form the Joint List, without Ra'am

Drama in the Arab parties: Hadash announced on Wednesday morning that it is advancing the formation of a joint list with Ta'al and Balad, without the Ra'am party. Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas welcomed the move.

After months of negotiations among the four Arab parties to form the Joint List, and after progress in the talks, the discussions reached an impasse late last night following a meeting between the party leaders and the heads of the Forum of Arab Authority Heads. The meeting, held at the Sakhnin municipality, highlighted the gaps between the sides, increased tensions and ended in a negative atmosphere. Abbas welcomed the move and did not rule out forming the list.

According to sources in Hadash, the decision came after the impression that Abbas was dragging out the talks, creating difficulties in the negotiations and was not truly intending to join the Joint List. Mansour Abbas said in an interview with Radio Nas that he still does not rule out the formation of the Joint List, but admitted that the chances have increased of running on two separate lists with different political approaches.