Ahmad Tibi Removes Opposition to Joint List Re-establishment Plan
A breakthrough in negotiations for the re-establishment of the Joint List has occurred. According to information received by Walla, Ta'al chairman Ahmad Tibi has dropped his opposition to the plan proposed by the "Reconciliation Committee." A Maariv poll suggests that a merger of the three Arab parties would secure 8 seats for the Joint List.
Ta'al chairman MK Ahmad Tibi removed his opposition on Tuesday to the plan proposed by the "Reconciliation Committee," which is responsible for the unification and re-establishment of the Joint List. It is expected that all parties have reached a compromise to finalize the party's re-establishment before the official deadline for submitting lists in early September.
Barring any last-minute changes, final agreements are expected to be reached by the end of the week. This development follows several days of stalled communications between the parties.
As recalled, the committee's plan was presented last Sunday, but Tibi opposed it and walked out of the meeting. Last Saturday, the secretariats of Hadash and Balad met separately and both announced their support for the plan.
Yesterday, a one-on-one meeting took place between Prof. Yousef Jabareen of Hadash and former MK Adv. Osama Saadi, a close aide to Ta'al chairman Ahmad Tibi. Sources familiar with the negotiations described the meeting as positive. As part of the arrangement, Tibi will receive the position of chairman of the joint faction, the role of Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, and membership in a prestigious committee such as the Finance Committee.
The progress concerns the place reserved for the second representative of his party. Currently, the ninth spot is designated for this candidate. Although a final summary has not yet been reached between all parties, they are waiting for Tibi to approve the list that has been on the table for several days.
MK positions according to the plan:
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Prof. Yousef Jabareen, Hadash
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Dr. Ahmad Tibi, Ta'al
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Sami Abu Shehadeh, Balad
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Jafar Farah, Hadash
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Baker Awawdeh, Balad
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Dr. Ofer Cassif, Hadash
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Yousef Atawna, Hadash
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Dr. Maha Karkabi, Hadash
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Ta'al
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Dr. Nahaya Washahi, Hadash
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Hassan Nasasra, Balad
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Ta'al
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Iyas Nator, Hadash
While Ra'am has decided to run independently, a senior official from the three factions stated that the door remains open for Ra'am to join the Joint List at the conference scheduled for this coming Saturday.
A Maariv poll published last Friday examined a scenario where Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad unite into one list. In such a scenario, the Joint Arab List wins 8 seats and Ra'am strengthens to 6, bringing the total for Arab parties to 14 seats.
