The “Arab Movement for Change” in the 1948 territories approved the agreement to form the tripartite joint list with the “Democratic Front for Peace and Equality” and the “National Democratic Assembly” to contest the Israeli Knesset elections scheduled for October 27.
The decision came during a meeting of the movement's central committee at the party headquarters in the city of Taybeh, which was dedicated to discussing the agreement and arrangements for forming the joint list and the list of candidates of the Arab Movement for Change.
The movement said in a statement that the decision came “after in-depth deliberations, and based on prioritizing the interest of the Arab community and unity over partisan calculations, despite its reservations about the level of its representation on the list and its insistence that its political and popular weight deserves greater representation.”
The Arab Movement for Change affirmed that “accepting the agreement aims to give unity a real chance, raise the voter turnout and restore public confidence, and strengthen political power in the face of racism and discrimination. It also called on the United Arab List to join and transform the three-party list into a four-party list.”
The committee approved the list of candidates of the movement: Dr. Ahmed Tibi, lawyer Ahmed Darawsheh, Haitham Zahalka, Ghassan Abdullah, Etemad Qadan, and Laith Kabha.
The decision came hours after Amjad Shbeita, secretary of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), announced an agreement among the Arab parties to form a joint list comprising Hadash, headed by Professor Yousef Jabareen; the National Democratic Assembly (Balad), headed by Sami Abu Shehadeh; and the Arab Movement for Change (Ta'al), headed by Dr. Ahmad Tibi.
A source familiar with the deliberations that Balad relinquished half of its allotted term as head of the Knesset bloc to Ta'al, and Hadash similarly conceded half of its allocated term as deputy speaker of the Knesset, as stipulated in the Reconciliation Committee's decision.
The source also clarified that an agreement was reached regarding budgetary arrangements, and a second funding unit was granted to the Arab Movement for Change. Furthermore, it was agreed within the settlement and consensus that the second and ninth seats on the Joint List would rotate 20 months after the elections, not two years later.
Ahmad Darawsheh, an official in the Arab Movement for Change, had previously told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the movement's central committee would meet that evening to ratify the understandings, after which a formal written agreement would be signed by the three parties, and the re-establishment of the tripartite Joint List would be announced on Thursday or Friday.
A "surplus votes" agreement is expected to be signed between the Joint List and the United Arab List, in addition to understandings regarding a fair and dignified political campaign that serves everyone, free from accusations of treason and apostasy, as explained by the head of the United Arab List, Dr. Mansour Abbas.
Agreements between them and the "Unified" bloc to allocate surplus votes
The transfer of surplus votes is a common practice in Israeli political parties, whereby two parties agree before elections to give the first party, or vice versa, any votes left over after the count. This is permitted under Israeli election law, which is based on proportional representation. The law allows parties to reach agreements that preserve the votes exceeding the minimum required for a single seat and allocate them to an allied list or party.
In a statement issued Wednesday evening, Shabita said: “We just concluded a final session of dialogue, completing the constructive discussions that took place in recent days between the head of our list, Professor Yousef Jabareen, and the former Knesset member from the Arab Movement for Change, our comrade Osama Saadi. This session culminated in an agreement on all points, and we will begin working immediately upon ratification of the agreement this evening at the meeting of the Central Committee of the Arab Movement for Change.”
The agreement comes in accordance with the decision of the National Reconciliation Committee, with some concessions made by the three constituent parties, stemming from a sense of national responsibility in the face of the formidable challenges we face.
Shabita's statement continued: "With this, we have turned the page, and the official announcement will soon be made through a press conference by the Joint List."
Shabita thanked everyone who contributed to overcoming the obstacles and resolving the disagreements, which revolved around procedural, not political, matters. He added: "I salute my comrades on the negotiating team for the Front, Comrade Adel Amer, Secretary-General of our Communist Party, and Comrade Yousef Jabareen, head of our list, as well as the negotiating delegations from the National Democratic Assembly and Change, and I especially mention Comrade Yousef Tatour, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Democratic Assembly, who, along with the comrades in the Assembly, demonstrated great responsibility, foremost among them Comrades Sami Abu Shehadeh, Khaled Anabtawi, Yousef Taha, and Ezz El-Din Badran."
He also expressed his gratitude to Comrade Osama al-Saadi, “who played a pivotal role in overcoming the obstacles, alongside our brothers in the Arab Movement for Change, especially Dr. Ahmad Tibi, and brothers Ali Haidar and Ahmad Darawsheh.” He extended “his deepest thanks to the Reconciliation Committee, which worked tirelessly to produce a detailed and fair resolution, rising above all insults and placing the interests of our people above all else.”
He added, “I salute the committee and all its members, especially our esteemed professor, the educator and writer Muhammad Ali Taha, the committee’s chairman and spokesperson, and the historian Mustafa Kalla, as well as the businessman who hosted the committee and its work, Mr. Ziad al-Omari.”He also said, “We must commend the media, journalists, heads of local authorities, and activists who accompanied, followed, and urged the swift completion of this task, especially Mr. Jamil Basoul, head of the Reineh Local Council, who participated in our final, crucial session.”
Shabita concluded, “Let us not forget the pivotal role of the former head of the High Follow-Up Committee, Comrade Muhammad Barakeh, and his contribution to bridging the gaps between the different viewpoints.” He continued, “Let’s get to work – towards greater representation. Towards ten seats for the Joint List and the downfall of the fascist right-wing government.”
