The deputy mayor of Rahat met with United Arab List leaders Thursday night and agreed to encourage Bedouin to support the party.
The Knesset last year raised the minimum number of votes for a party to gain entry in the Knesset, a move that forced the two Arab and one Jewish-Arab party to unit in order to keep their seats.
The union, along with behind the scenes encouragement from the Palestinian Authority, has resulted in an unprecedented enthusiasm among the Arab and Bedouin sector, whose participation in elections traditionally has been relatively low.
The Arab parties usually have been represented by 9-11 Knesset Members, but all polls indicate that the United Arab List will end up with 12 or 13 MKs after the votes are counted. A larger-than-expected turnout could raise the number even more.
The Likud and the Zionist Camp party, formed by the merge of Labor with Tzipi Livni’s HaTnuah party, are the only two parties that will win more ballots than the Arab List, according to current polls.
That could change if the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) regains some of its support that has been lost to the new Yachad party, which is struggling in the polls that show it on the borderline of entering the Knesset..
Rahat politicians are opening up a field office for the campaign in coordination for the “Committee for National Reconciliation Accord by the Renaissance.”
Atta Abu Medeghem, the acting mayor of Rahat, said:
We declare our full support for the joint list to achieve victory for Arabs against racism and for full equality and the overthrow of the right-wing arrogant government.
Arab party leaders openly oppose the existence of Israel as Jewish nation.