Tibi’s Offer to Lapid and the Response That Sank It

The outgoing chairman of Hadash-Ta'al, MK Ayman Odeh, said today (Thursday) that before the fall of the Bennett-Lapid government, Hadash and Ta'al offered to provide the government with a safety net that would have allowed it to continue to exist. In an interview with Radio Nasa, Odeh said that Ta'al chairman Ahmad Tibi had at the time approached Yair Lapid with the proposal, but Lapid rejected it, saying that Naftali Bennett would not agree to rely on such support.

The remarks, published by Channel 12 News, were made against the backdrop of the dispute between Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am during talks to establish a joint list. Ra'am recently claimed that the Joint List worked to bring down the change government, while Odeh rejects the claim and says his party דווקא tried to help it survive. Just yesterday, it was reported that the heads of the Arab parties met, and at the end Hadash announced that there were "advanced contacts" to establish a joint list without Ra'am, after the party concluded that Mansour Abbas was slowing the talks.

It should be recalled that Ra'am was part of the coalition during the Bennett-Lapid government. Since October 7, the mainstream parties have stated that they will not form a government that relies on Arab parties as the 61st vote. However, MK Walid Alhwashla of Ra'am said overnight that his party aims to influence the next government as well. "I hope the Arab public will go out to vote and give us strength to influence the next government. We want to achieve results and put an end to the racist celebration toward the Arab public," he said.