Aseel Mafarjeh
The New Arab / January 28, 2026
Amid rising crime and longstanding discrimination, a revitalised Joint List aims to unify a fragmented electorate and amplify Palestinian voices in the Knesset.
Leaders of Israel’s four Palestinian political parties on Thursday reached a tentative understanding to reunify ahead of the next Knesset elections, which are expected to be held by October.
The document, signed on 22 January, stops short of a binding electoral pact but commits the parties to formal negotiations aimed at reassembling the Joint List, a slate that once consolidated much of the Palestinian vote in Israel before fracturing in recent election cycles.
Palestinian citizens of Israel represent around 20% of the population, the descendants of those who managed to stay on their land following the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, when over 700,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed and became refugees during the establishment of the Israeli state.
The signatories included Ayman Odeh of Hadash, a left-wing Jewish-Arab alliance with communist roots; Ahmad Tibi of Ta’al, an Arab nationalist party; Mansour Abbas of Ra’am, which represents Islamist voters and has a strong support base among Bedouins; and Sami Abu Shehadeh of Balad, a Palestinian nationalist faction.
Coming amid mass protests over rising crime and long-standing grievances about discrimination and marginalisation, the move seeks to unify a fragmented electorate and amplify Palestinian voices in the Knesset.
Analysts and party leaders alike confirmed to The New Arab that the alliance is a moral and national imperative, aimed at protecting rights, addressing security failures in Palestinian communities, and ensuring that Palestinian concerns take centre stage in Israeli politics.
The group gathered in Sakhnin, a Palestinian-majority city in northern Israel, on a day marked by a general strike and mass demonstrations across different communities. Tens of thousands had marched to protest spiralling violence and a mounting death toll, which saw 252 Palestinian citizens of Israel killed in 2025.
“The upcoming elections are not just about numbers,” Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi told The New Arab, “but a political and moral issue and a national duty to prevent the continuation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies and those of his extremist ministers.”
What is the Joint List ?
The Joint List, first forged in 2015, represents both the promise and perils of Palestinian political unity within Israel. Born out of necessity after a rise in the Knesset’s electoral threshold threatened to marginalise smaller Palestinian parties, it united Hadash, Ta’al, Ra’am, and Balad into a single slate, transforming a fragmented electorate into the third-largest party in the parliament.
The alliance galvanised unprecedented turnout among Palestinian citizens, briefly elevating them to the role of potential kingmakers during Israel’s prolonged political deadlock between 2019 and 2022, when its 15-seat high marked the peak of Palestinian representation.
Yet the Joint List’s internal divisions, ideological rifts, personal rivalries, and disagreements over cooperation with Jewish-Israeli parties, combined with systematic exclusion by Israeli political blocs, ultimately fractured the alliance.
Now, amid escalating violence, rising crime in Palestinian communities, and a renewed electoral cycle, leaders are seeking to revive the Joint List, presenting a test of whether the Palestinian community can reclaim a unified voice in the Knesset.
According to Sami Abu Shehadeh of Balad, the group aims to create a list combining four components, with polls showing the possibility of gaining 15 seats, which translates to more parliamentary representation for Palestinian parties.
“The Knesset consists of 120 seats, and the Joint List is expected to rank third in size after the two central blocs, likely Likud and [Naftali] Bennett’s party,” he told The New Arab. “There’s a possibility we could become the second-largest bloc in size.”
If the Joint List can achieve these ambitions, it will have significant influence, representing about 12 to 15 per cent of seats.
“This strong presence will enhance its presence in committees and allow it to divide files among members to achieve specialised professional work covering all issues affecting Palestinians inside Israel and their cause in general,” he added.
Why now ?
Israeli political analyst Ismat Mansour observed that much of the current unrest among Palestinian citizens stems from years of marginalisation under the far-right government.
“Arab communities have suffered not only from neglect in budgets and services but also from aggressive discrimination, particularly with Ben Gvir heading the Security Ministry,” he said.
Mansour added that the broader political climate has fostered a sense of stagnation, with many fearing that without a significant shift, the far-right government will simply reproduce itself, entrenching its policies and potentially exacerbating social tensions.
Similarly, analyst Ihab Al-Jabarin pointed to the spike in crime, which saw Palestinian deaths in 2025 as a key factor driving the renewed push for unity. The sheer scale of the crisis made continued party fragmentation increasingly untenable.
“Public pressure, particularly in Sakhnin,” he added, “compelled party leaders to commit publicly to reunification in an effort to hold the government accountable.”
Mass protests erupted across Palestinian-majority towns in northern Israel this week, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to denounce soaring crime and police inaction. On Friday, Sakhnin, east of Acre, became a focal point for the demonstrations, as residents accused Israeli authorities of complicity in organised crime and failing to protect their communities.
The protests followed calls from local municipalities, parent committees, and civic organisations for an open-ended strike. Black flags and slogans targeted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom demonstrators accused of disregarding Palestinian lives.
The movement quickly spread to nearby towns, including Tamra, Kabul, and I’billin, marking some of the largest protests in years. Community leaders announced that the open-ended strike would continue through Saturday.
In an interview with TNA, political analyst Ihab Al-Jabarin described the return of the Joint List as “an urgent response to a deep crisis in Arab society,” marked by rising crime, extortion, and eroding trust in the police.
He characterised these issues as a test of leadership legitimacy, noting that the Sakhnin announcement underscored the weight of community expectations.
Palestinian representation in Israeli politics
Despite representing over 20% of Israel’s 10 million population, Palestinian political representation in the Knesset is declining, with voter turnout also falling markedly over the past 20 years, sometimes 10 percent short of Jewish-Israeli turnout.
Palestinian citizens of Israel are currently represented in the Knesset through only two parties, after the Joint List broke into separate factions for the 1 November 2022 elections.
The United Arab List (Ra’am) secured five seats, as did the Hadash-Ta’al alliance. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Assembly (Balad) failed to cross the electoral threshold, resulting in a total representation in the Knesset of only 10 seats out of 120, far below the proportion of Palestinians in the country.
Political analyst Ismat Mansour said the reconstitution of the Joint List is likely to have a significant impact on voter turnout, reflecting a broader sense of urgency among Palestinian citizens who feel the need for a strong political alternative.
“Increased participation,” he noted, “could reduce votes for Zionist parties, weakening their influence and enhancing the List’s capacity to manoeuvre as a parliamentary force.”
He also noted that the Joint List’s platform must respond to the immediate demands of the community, including combating crime and protecting Palestinian rights inside Israel, while remaining attuned to the broader political landscape and the needs of the next government.
“Forming the list and distributing seats presents a major challenge,” Mansour said, adding that a unified political direction after the elections is essential to maintaining momentum, whether in opposition or as a potential participant in government.
He stressed the growing role of youth in Palestinian society, suggesting that recent traumas have strengthened their capacity to confront challenges and solidify a sense of national identity.
Al-Jabarin noted that unifying the lists is likely to raise voter turnout and reduce “vote wastage,” citing Moshe Dayan Centre polls that project participation could rise from 52.4 percent under separate lists to 61.8 percent if the parties run together, potentially translating into roughly 15.5 seats.
“This is an opportunity to raise issues such as equality in public services and addressing police violence,” he added, cautioning that the focus must go beyond mere budget allocations to meaningful protection of rights and justice for Palestinian citizens.
Political hopes
Sami Abu Shehadeh of Balad said that the purpose of establishing the Joint List was to represent all active political movements and to place Palestinian issues and concerns at the centre of its priorities.
“The aim was to form a list with a clear political program that puts Palestinian matters at the forefront, defends justice, equality, and freedom, and works against racism and Jewish supremacy in historic Palestine,” he told The New Arab.
Abu Shehadeh also noted that parliamentary solutions were needed for everyday concerns, particularly security, which he described as a pressing priority for Palestinian citizens.
“The disparity in treatment between Arab and Jewish lives must be rectified, and protecting the rights of all citizens remains central to the Joint List’s mission.”
The Joint List is expected to function not only as a parliamentary bloc but also as a moral lever, pressuring the government on issues affecting Palestinian citizens of Israel, according to Al-Jabarin.
He suggested that the alliance could foster a stronger sense of “unity of fate” between Palestinians in Israel and those in the West Bank and Gaza, even as it remains grounded in domestic political work.
Al-Jabarin also acknowledged the challenges ahead, noting that ideological differences among the constituent parties will need careful management and that the list may face intensified attacks from Israeli right-wing factions. But the signing itself marks the hopes of the Palestinian street for unity.
“This signing reflects the historic significance of Sakhnin and the determination of our Arab population inside Israel,” he said. “It binds all parties together and expresses the will of the Arab street for unity.”
Aseel Mafarjeh is a Palestinian journalist based in the West Bank, focusing on social and political issues
