“First and foremost, because the bloc to replace Netanyahu doesn’t have any serious candidate for prime minister, and in a situation like this, a government under [Yesh Atid Party leader Yair] Lapid, even if it had the support of Ra’am, would be unstable and would collapse not long after it was formed. A government of the Netanyahu bloc, with him as leader, will be more stable and able to help up achieve the goals we have set for Arab society,” he said.

The official added that “even before we [Ra’am] split off from the Joint Arab List, we were excoriated for heading toward political unity, and we proved the opposite when the Arab public gave us the mandate and expressed their faith in the path we proposed. For 30 years we’ve tried the path of isolationism, and it hasn’t gotten us anywhere. It’s time for a change.”

The anti-Netanyahu bloc is also courting Abbas’s party, and he has met with Lapid, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Labor leader Merav Michaeli. Meanwhile, certain members of the Netanyahu bloc are opposing a deal with Ra’am, namely Religious Zionist list head Bezalel Smotrich, who is rejecting any coalition established through cooperation with Abbas.