For the first time in a half-century, a joint Palestinian-Israeli list will compete in Jerusalem's municipal elections. The 350,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem have boycotted the vote since Israel unilaterally unified Jerusalem in 1967 and created a single municipality, refusing to recognize and legitimize the Israeli occupation and annexation. Palestinians in East Jerusalem were given permanent residency but not citizenship, and thus can vote in municipal elections but not for the Knesset.
The former chairman of the Israeli Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace, Aziz Abu Sarah, and Israeli researcher and co-director of the Israel Palestine Creative Initiatives think tank Gershon Baskin decided to run in the upcoming municipal elections scheduled for next November in a joint list. The announcement was made April 25.