Palestinian citizens of Israel are expected to send an entirely different set of politicians to the Knesset in the upcoming parliamentary elections, due to take place April 9. They are currently represented by the Joint List, led by Ayman Odeh, with one Jewish and 12 Arab Knesset members. Political observers estimate that at least two, and possibly three, Arab lists will be announced before the deadline to register at the end of February.

One new party likely to participate is Arab Home. According to a Dec. 31 press release by the attorney Ayman Abu Rayya, the party's founder, Arab Home would join the governing coalition no matter who heads this coalition. No Arab party or list has ever been invited to join an Israeli government in the state's 70 years of existence.

As for the Joint List, it is not clear whether the current party lineup will be the one presented to voters in the April balloting. While internal rules dictate a rotation of many of the representatives of the main parties of the Joint List, it is also unclear whether the list itself, which was voted into the Knesset by an overwhelming majority of Palestinian citizens of Israel in 2015, will survive. The Joint List currently consists of Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), Balad (Al-Tajamu), the Islamic Movement and the Arab Movement for Renewal, led by Ahmad Tibi. 

Al-Monitor has learned that Tibi, one of the more popular members of the current list, is holding serious negotiations to establish a separate list in collaboration with Nazareth Mayor Ali Salam, who was re-elected with 63% of the vote in municipal elections held in October. Palestinian sources in Israel told Al-Monitor that a Tibi-Salam list might attract the Islamist vote, creating formidable competition for the Joint List.