The Joint List announced Sept. 22 its decision to recommend Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz as a candidate for prime minister. Its decision, a first for Arabs in Israel, sent shockwaves through the West Bank and Gaza, not just inside Israel.
The alliance, formed by several Arab parties in Israel — namely the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, the Arab Movement for Renewal and the National Democratic Alliance — won 13 seats in the Israeli elections Sept. 17, thus becoming the third largest party in the 120-member Israeli Knesset.