Can the United Arab List change Israel’s politics internally? | Conflicts between Israel and Palestine Issues

Watching Benjamin Netanyahu’s circular political drama departure, political part of Israel is on the verge of collapse: For the first time in Israeli history Mansour Abbas’ List of United Arab Emirates (Ra’am) became part of a united government.

However, Ra’am faces the daunting task of moving between Palestinian voters and becoming a right-wing ally in Israel.

Although Palestinians make up about 20% of Israel, the minority term is left out of political elections.

Representatives were non-gratae, unpopular, not only in the religious groups but also in the right wing as well as national and international parties.

After the March 2020 elections, Ra’am volunteered to support the left-wing alliance Benny Gantz. However, Gantz denied the request – fearing he could be torn apart by a wing-wing wing like an Arab relative and instead entered into an alliance with his colleague Netanyahu – a decision he would regret now.

Thanks to Netanyahu, who in the past often used to challenge the Arabic question in order to identify his problem and encourage them, Ra’am is now a member of the Israeli government.

“The taboo was broken, surprisingly by the Netanyahu camp, which tried – and failed – to get Arab support from the Netanyahu alliance. Jazeera.

However, Netanyahu endorsed Ra’am, allowing the anti-Netanyahu camp – Bloc for Change – to take Ra’am into the alliance.

“From now on, any alliance with the Arab parties has been legal – and this is the first time in the history of Israel,” Neuberger said.

Within the system

However, it is not only the political parties that have seen the change and the nation of Israel. In February 2020, a survey reported that only 23% of Jewish voters would support the notion that Arab parties in the country support the Israeli government. In April 2021, a survey found that 48% of Jewish voters had voted.

Ra’am began to realize that it could do a lot in the system.

In most cases, the Palestinian question oversees the electoral stages of the Arab parties, but the proportion of the Arab population remains low. This year’s events are the worst in history, with 44.6%.

However, this political apathy forced the Arab parties to change, to keep the Palestinians in their place of residence and to improve the conditions of the voters, the Palestinian citizens of Israel. It was a change of mindset that was sensible, as the voting citizens of Palestine seemed to be concerned about their future, first and foremost.

Arab parties are responding to voter reforms, which are interested in issues of bread and butter: an increase in violence in Arab towns and villages; education; development projects; Retirement and government budgets, says Neuberger.

“Ra’am did well to follow what happened.”

However, while Ra’am will benefit from this new initiative in Israel, what is going on is not a foregone conclusion. The most important ties between Jews and Ra’am remain related to security, public safety, and foreign policy.

Ra’am naturally advocates the establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It also promotes the equal rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel. However, Ra’am also agrees with the idea that the Muslim Brotherhood is now banned by Hamas in Gaza. The latter, in particular, raises serious questions for which the agreement will need to be answered, especially if the conflict with Gaza resumes.

Ra’am is doing well, especially when it comes to the war between Israel and Palestine.

However, Neuberger said the initial change in the matter does not come with Ra’am, but with space and, in particular, the left has been one part of the alliance that agreed to join the right part of the alliance.

“This agreement has made it easier for Ra’am to enter into the agreement,” he said.

‘Subjection to wisdom’

However, Israel’s right-wing involvement will no doubt be seen as a rebellion against Palestine’s actions. In an attempt to counter this idea, Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas has shown his ability by following the plan of the Orthodox religion, which SHAS has already promoted, says Neuberger.

“Abbas has made up his mind, such as accepting Zionism and accepting the Jewish state, in exchange for their political parties, for example school fees.”

However, realizing that Ra’am only has four seats in the Knesset, the alliance will continue to gain a foothold for many Jews, which seems to be natural.

The big change seems to be that from now on, fewer Arabs will be more anxious than ever, says Neuberger.

By voting for his party, Abbas also sought additional funding from Arab countries. Co-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid agreed to double the budget for a five-year plan to upgrade the Arab sector in Israel to 35bn ($ 10.75bn).

In addition, Ra’am was able to identify three legitimate Bedouin cities in the Negev desert, a region that is a religious or patriotic Palestinian state for Israeli citizens. It marks a turning point in Israeli politics – the representation of the Knesset with the power to move the issue in favor of Palestine.

“This is the first time in the history of Israel that the Arab party is part of the government and that the government relies on its votes to create, survive and enact laws. from critics, “Sammy Smooha, a professor of sociology at the University of Haifa, told Al Jazeera.

“Ra’am’s main goal is to become a major Arab ambassador to Israel and to be more representative than other Arab defense agencies such as the Joint List, the Council of Heads of Arab Local Councils, and the Higher Fellow – Executive Committee.”

In doing so, Ra’am will insist on implementing other policies such as the distribution of Arab housing and housing, the fight against violence and crime in the Arab region, and the construction of an Arab university in Galilee, Smooha said.

In particular, the issue of crime is increasing in the Arab world, with more and more people being killed.

However, the delegates will not solve the problem that exists in the way of Ra’am.

Bennett, who once called Abbas a “terrorist aide”, advocates established Jewish principles and strongly opposes the Palestinian state. True, many allies and wing groups are able to oppose Netanyahu’s actions, but not his ideology.

How many legitimacy can exist in such a place?

The political interference of the Arab party alone should not bring about a rift between Jews and Muslims. Recent religious crises have proved that short-lived survival remains.

However, with the old alliance, Palestinian citizens of Israel are no longer pariahs. In the long run, some experts say, it could lead to Jewish and Arab citizens – if the alliance could be maintained.

‘New powers’

In addition, Ra’am’s participation could lead to further relief, as major measures such as the seizure of his territories could mean the end of the treaty.

“The new strength is that the government will not ignore the needs and small goals of the Arabs in the security zone and could jeopardize their survival if they cross the red lines in the region,” Smooha said.

The red lines can be found everywhere in the new Israeli government, the aforementioned cultural and economic crisis or the next Israeli war in Gaza, Smooha said.

However, the chances of all the red lines being crossed were “not great”, he added.

Despite the dramatic changes in Israeli politics, Ra’am is now found in a difficult environment where his way of reasoning and truth seems to be lacking.

Its role in the coalition should affect whether the Arab parties in government appear to be making progress, or whether they will be accused of trying and hindering progress.