Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad Agree to Run Joint List Without Ra'am in Upcoming Elections

The Arab parties Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad have agreed to run together on a joint list in the upcoming Israeli elections, excluding Ra'am led by Mansour Abbas. According to the agreement announced on August 26, 2023, Hadash chairman Yousef Jabareen will head the list, followed by Ta'al leader Ahmad Tibi and Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh in third place. The rest of the list will include representatives from each party with a rotation agreement at the sixth spot.

This coalition formation follows a meeting between Jabareen and former Ta'al MK Osama Saadi, aiming to increase voter turnout among the Arab community. Ra'am is expected to run separately and will hold primaries on the upcoming Saturday.

Recent polls by Channel 12 indicated that Balad running separately from Hadash and Ta'al failed to pass the electoral threshold. A scenario examined in a recent poll showed that a united list of Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad would strengthen their representation to six seats, while Ra'am would gain six seats as well. This would keep the anti-Netanyahu bloc at 70 seats overall, with Arab parties increasing their seats to 12 and Zionist parties decreasing to 58.

The joint list aims to consolidate Arab votes and improve their parliamentary influence ahead of the elections, which remain officially unannounced.