Will Arabs in Israel revive Joint List for new elections?
Palestinian citizens in Israel lost three seats in the April 10 elections due in large part to the low turnout, which came as a result of apathy and unhappiness about the fact that the united list was divided into two.
No sooner had the new Israeli Knesset voted on May 30 to dissolve itself and hold new elections in September than calls began among Israel’s Palestinian citizens to revisit reviving the united Joint List, which had won 13 seats in the 2015 elections, compared to the 10 seats won by Arab parties in this year's April 9 elections.
Turnout for the Arab parties in April stood at 49%, compared to 63% in 2015. The united list of Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) and Ta’al, led by Ahmad Tibi, won six seats, and the combined list of the Islamist Ra'am (United Arab List) and Balad (Tajamu) barely crossed the Knesset threshold of four mandates.
