March 2, 2021 at 10:02 am
At a glance, it may appear that the split of Arab political parties in Israel is consistent with a typical pattern of political and ideological divisions which have afflicted the Arab body politic for many years. This time, however, the reasons behind the split are quite different.
As Israel readies for its fourth general elections within two years, scheduled for 23 March, Israel s Palestinian Arab voters seem to be in a position of power, slated to become the kingmaker in the country s future coalition government. But something peculiar has happened. The Joint List, which has successfully united the Arab vote in Israel in previous elections, suffered a major setback with the split of the United Arab List (Raam) on 4 February.
Israel: Blue and White likely to collapse after departure of key figures
Israelis cast their votes during the Israeli legislative elections, at a polling station in Tel Aviv on 17 September 2019 [Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency] December 29, 2020 at 9:53 am
Coalition partner in Israel s current government, the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) party, is likely to collapse after key members quit the bloc, local media reported yesterday.
This comes after two Members of the Knesset, Asaf Zamir and Miki Haimovich, voted against extending the budget deadline last week,
Ynet News said, leading to the collapse of the coalition government.
Zamir and Haimovich announced on Sunday night that they had defected and would not be included in the party s electoral list for the next elections.