Balad chairman Sami Abu Shahada accused Ra'am on Wednesday of thwarting efforts to form a unified Arab electoral list, saying Balad showed flexibility and agreed to compromises on a technical joint slate in talks among four parties. He stated Balad is now ready to continue compromising to enable a three-party joint list.
Balad chairman Sami Abu Shahada issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon blaming Ra'am, the United Arab List, for the failure to establish a unified Arab electoral slate for the upcoming Knesset elections. According to Abu Shahada, Balad demonstrated flexibility and agreed to compromises during negotiations that involved all four Arab-majority parties — Hadash, Ta'al, Balad, and Ra'am — for a technical joint list. He claimed that Ra'am was the party that sabotaged the talks. Abu Shahada added that Balad remains prepared to continue compromising to facilitate a joint list of three parties (Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad). The statement comes after weeks of maneuvering among the Arab-led factions. As The Zioneer has previously reported, Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas has consistently pursued a separate path of coalition partnership with the governing coalition, resisting calls for a full merger of Arab parties. Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad have already advanced plans for a joint list without Ra'am. The accusation marks a public escalation of the rift between the two camps ahead of the election filing deadline.
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