Israel’s Southern Islamic Movement seeks to separate from Joint List

Mansour Abbas, Israeli Arab politician and member of the United Arab List, which is part of the Joint List electoral alliance, appears during a campaign rally in the northern Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin on 15 September 2019, two days ahead of the Israeli general elections. [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]

The Southern Islamic Movement in Israel has applied to leave the Joint List bloc of mainly Arab parties, Arab48 reported yesterday.

The Southern Islamic Movement, headed by Mansour Abbas, said that the application for this separation is a normal measure that precedes every election. Adding that it is in agreement with the Joint List and its condition that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a redline.

The movement went on to put two conditions on the Joint List: to name Jewish parties it would deal with in order to achieve the demands of the Arab community and to make clear that it would not vote for any laws that violate the beliefs of the conservative society.

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