According to Hadash, the three parties ultimately accepted that demand. A source with knowledge of the negotiations told The Times of Israel that the main obstacle remaining in the talks was Ra\u2019am\u2019s demand that the other parties commit not to oppose or bring down any government that the Islamist party chooses to join.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n That condition was a red line for the other three parties, the source said, arguing that they, \u201clike Ra\u2019am, insist on their right to act independently\u201d and vote as they see fit.<\/p>\n \t Representatives of the National Committee of Arab Local Council Heads met Tuesday in Sakhnin with leaders of all four parties to try and bridge the gaps, but the meeting failed to produce a breakthrough, a source said, accusing Ra\u2019am of making progress \u201cimpossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Polls show a joint slate of the four Arab-majority parties winning 12-15 seats in the upcoming election \u2014 which can be held no later than October 27 \u2014 but garnering a smaller number of seats if the parties run separately.<\/p>\n Last week, the Knesset advanced a bill<\/a> to dissolve parliament and officially trigger a national election, but the final readings for the legislation have not yet been scheduled. No date for the election has been finalized, though it is expected to be held sometime between mid-September and October 20.<\/p>\n The Joint List slate of Arab parties was first formed in 2015 and split up in 2021 after Ra\u2019am broke away from the other parties to join the coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. The slate collapsed altogether ahead of the 2022 election, when the nationalist Balad pursued an ultimately unsuccessful solo run, leaving the remaining two parties to form the joint Hadash-Ta\u2019al list.<\/p>\n Last month, Hadash, Ta\u2019al and Balad said that<\/a> due to \u201cexistential dangers\u201d posed by the current government, they were seeking to reestablish the union alongside Ra\u2019am in order \u201cto strengthen Arab representation and overthrow the extremist right-wing government.\u201d<\/p>\n Bennett, considered a leading candidate to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected Ra\u2019am as a potential coalition partner, despite having led the 2021-2022 government that included the Islamist party. He has said<\/a> his next government would include only Zionist parties and that, following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre, Israel\u2019s coalition should not depend<\/a> on a non-Zionist party.<\/p>\n \t Other opposition leaders have also either explicitly rejected Arab parties as coalition partners or called for a purely Zionist government, which would mean Arab parties are excluded. Netanyahu and his supporters regularly condemn and delegitimize the Arab parties.<\/p>\n Only Yair Golan, the leader of the left-wing Democrats, has openly encouraged<\/a> his fellow opposition leaders to partner with Ra\u2019am again, and urged them to \u201cstop playing along\u201d with the demonization of the party.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, former Meretz MK Michal Rozin announced that she will compete for a spot on The Democrats\u2019 Knesset slate in the party\u2019s internal primaries, set to be held this summer. The Democrats is a merger of the left-wing Labor and Meretz parties.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will not be a second chance for the rehabilitation of the State of Israel,\u201d Rozin said, adding that she hopes to bring the parliamentary experience needed to help maintain a future anti-Netanyahu coalition and avoid the mistakes that led to the collapse of the Bennett-Lapid government in 2022.<\/p>\n Rozin, 56, served in the Knesset from 2013 to 2022. Before entering politics, she headed the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. She helped broker the 2024 merger between Labor and Meretz that formed The Democrats.<\/p>\n \t Last month, party members ratified an agreement guaranteeing Meretz candidates spots on the joint slate in the 6th, 8th and 14th positions. With The Democrats consistently polling around eight seats, the top two of those reserved slots are widely seen as realistic.<\/p>\n Golan endorsed Rozin\u2019s candidacy, calling her \u201cone of the most skilled lawmakers\u201d he worked with during their years together in the Knesset under Meretz, and saying her return to politics will strengthen both the party and Israel\u2019s democratic camp.<\/p>\n Rozin\u2019s announcement follows news earlier this month that former deputy head of the National Security Council Eran Etzion and anti-government protest leader and lawyer Nava Rozolyo will also compete in the party\u2019s primaries.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/F260603YS52-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tRa\u2019am leader Mansour Abbas (left) and Ta\u2019al chief Ahmad Tibi walk outside the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, June 3, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-11-at-19.20.43-e1754937329562-640x400.jpeg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tLeaders of the Hadash, Ta\u2019al, Ra\u2019am, and Balad parties meet in Nazareth, August 11, 2025. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/F260601YS340-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tFormer MK Michal Rozin attends a Democrats faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
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