Wamab is the joint Arab list, comprised of many smaller Arab political parties who banned together. Israel’s major Arab political parties Balad and Ra’am-Ta’al signed an agreement on January 21, 2015, with the Arab-Jewish Hadash Party and the Islamic Movement to run on a single ticket headed by Hadash leader Ayman Odeh. The decision of the often fractious parties to unite was prompted by the recent change in election law raising the threshold for representation from 2 percent to 3.25 percent, which would make it difficult for the smaller individual parties to win seats. Jointly, they strategized that they had a chance to win more than 10 seats. During the 19th Knesset they collectively held 12 seats, and the Arab list won 13 seats in the 2015 election for the 20th Knesset, making it the third largest party.
The list broke into two factions, Ra’am - Balad and Hadash - Ta’al in the election for the 21st Knesset in April 2019. They reunited to win 13 seats in the September 2019 election for the 22nd Knesset. In the election to the 23rd Knesset in 2020, the list won 15 seats and was again the third largest party.
For the 2021 election, Ra’am decided to run independently of the other three Arab parties, which won six seats.
The Joint Arab List (Wamab) did not run as a unified slate in the 2022 election. Ra’am had already left before the 2021 election. Then, at the September 2022 filing deadline, the remaining alliance collapsed: Hadash and Ta’al ran together and won five seats; Balad ran independently, received 2.9%, and failed to cross the 3.25% threshold. Ra’am also ran independently and won five seats. Thus, the 25th Knesset had no Joint List faction; its former components held ten seats across Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am.
In 2026, the Joint List was reestablished as a three-party alliance of Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad, led by Yousef Jabareen. Ra’am ultimately declined to join and submitted a separate slate led by Mansour Abbas. The two lists later signed a surplus-vote agreement, but that is only a technical electoral arrangement and does not merge them.
On September 23, 2026, the Central Elections Committee voted 18-5 to disqualify the Joint List from the October 27 election, accepting a petition from Likud. The alliance of Hadash, Ta’al and Balad called the decision political, racist and anti-democratic. It accused Netanyahu and his allies of trying to suppress Arab voter turnout and said it expected the Supreme Court to overturn the ban. On October 1, Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh withdrew from Israel’s upcoming election after the Supreme Court indicated that a majority favored disqualifying him over an article published the day after October 7 that described the attack as an important historic event. Abu Shehadeh denied supporting terrorism, saying his comments were intended as a warning to Israel. In contrast, Balad said he would continue leading the party and its other candidates would remain in the race. His withdrawal reshuffled the Joint List, comprising Hadash, Ta’al and Balad, but polling suggests seven seats would still leave Balad with two representatives. Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously overturned the disqualification of the Arab parties the on October 4, allowing the Joint List to contest the October 27 election.
Sources: Green, David B. “The Arab Joint List is Reshaping Israeli Politics,” Tablet Magazine (March 12, 2015).
“Breaking Down the Arab Parties’ Breakup,” Israel Policy Forum, (September 22, 2022).
Yoav Etiel, “Arab Hadash-Ta’al, Ra’am parties sign agreement to reduce risk of lost votes,” Jerusalem Post, (September 13, 2026).
Ariela Karmel, “Election panel disqualifies all Arab parties, in move likely to be overturned; Balad leader also barred,” Times of Israel, (September 24, 2026).
“Balad leader withdraws from election,” BICOM, (October 2, 2026).
Shira Rubin, “Israel’s Supreme Court Overturns Election Ban on Arab Parties,” Bloomberg, (October 4, 2026).