Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 31.01.2026
The heads of Hadash and the three Arab parties, Ra’am, Ta’al, and Balad, announced last Thursday their intention to run in the upcoming elections on a joint list. The statement was signed by Knesset members Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi, Mansour Abbas and former Knesset member Sami Abu Shehadeh during a joint meeting of the Supreme Monitoring Committee and the Committee of Heads of Arab Municipalities, which took place at the Sakhnin municipality building at the end of a demonstration of tens of thousands held in the city to protest crime and violence in Arab society, which called on the government and the police to fight Arab crime.
While it is important to demonstrate, what is needed is organizing the self-defense of the Palestinians citizens of Israel, not to spread illusions in the Zionist police.
In an article by Davidi of Hadash, he writes in “This is the Way,” the Stalinist Party newspaper: “This year is an election year, and it will be a decisive election: Will the extreme and racist right-wing regime continue its destruction, or will it be confronted with a mass Jewish-Arab democratic alternative?”… They were surprised to discover a full-page ad in the weekend issue of Haaretz, the day after the demonstration in Sakhnin and the signing of the Agreement of Principles, under the headline “We need a Jewish-Arab party.” Among the reasons: “We need a party that will rise to the magnitude of the moment at this historic moment, see the way, and then responsibly promote connections in order to build a united Jewish-Arab camp that will ensure broad participation in the elections and that the government of change will really bring about change.” The ad is signed by dozens of Jews and Arabs who are organized according to their academic degrees. Among them are many “doctors” and “professors.” The ad, initiated by the “Standing Together” protest movement, features the late Meretz members and its voters – disappointed by the “Democrats” led by a former deputy chief of staff who, for years, was a senior partner in the oppression of the Palestinians in the occupied territories.“[i]
MK Odeh of Hadash said in an interview with the newspaper “Israel Hayom” on January 31, 2026:
Q: Now that the Joint List has the option of “toppling” Netanyahu even at the cost of enthroned Naftali Bennett as prime minister, what do you intend to do?
A: “You’re talking to a person who twice recommended Gantz and once Lapid, after I knew he would pass the baton to Bennett. I wanted the Netanyahu era to end.”[ii]
Endnotes:
[i] https://zoha.org.il/143054/
[ii] https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/politics/article/19796248