Ra'am Willing to Revive Joint List for 2026 Elections
The Islamist Ra’am party is reportedly willing to join a technical joint electoral list with Hadash, Ta’al and Balad ahead of the upcoming elections, while insisting that it retain political independence.
The Islamist Ra’am party is reportedly willing to join a technical joint electoral list with Hadash, Ta’al and Balad ahead of the upcoming elections, while insisting that it retain political independence.
According to Haaretz, Ra’am said any joint run would have to remain strictly technical, allowing each party to preserve its own platform, voter dialogue and freedom of action.
“A joint-technical list means that each party maintains its platform, freedom and dialogue with its voters without any constraint,” Ra’am reportedly said. “Any clause that imposes binding conditions on each of the parties harms the technical nature of the list and turns it into something completely different.”
The party said such a framework “would be the ideal solution that fulfills the aspirations of our voters and preserves the integrity of the parties.”
The statement came after Hadash, Ta’al and Balad called on Ra’am to join efforts to revive the Joint List, citing what they described as “existential dangers” facing Arab parties. They said a renewed alliance was needed to strengthen Arab representation and help bring down the current right-wing government.
The Joint List has previously succeeded in boosting Arab turnout and political influence despite deep ideological divisions among its member parties. At its peak in 2020, it won 15 seats, becoming the third-largest faction in the Knesset.
The renewed talks come as Arab parties prepare for elections expected no later than October 27, and as Ra’am faces political pressure from the right.
Channel 13 reported Sunday that allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seeking to outlaw Ra’am as a terror group ahead of the elections. Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas called the reported plan “anti-democratic” and said his party would respond at the ballot box.
Such a move would require Knesset legislation and security opinions from relevant agencies, including the Shin Bet. It is unclear whether there would be enough time to complete the process before elections.