A new television poll released Wednesday showed that if Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz joins Ra’am, the Islamist party would pick up two seats, going five to an unprecedented seven.

Segalovitz has reportedly been in talks with Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas about a merger, with an announcement expected in the coming days.

The move has the potential of boosting Abbas’s legitimacy as a coalition partner in the eyes of opposition parties, some of which are campaigning against a potential government that includes Arab-majority factions.

Ra’am was part of the coalition during the previous government headed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, though the former now rejects it as a coalition partner, saying that following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre, Israel’s coalition should not depend on a non-Zionist party. Abbas however has repeatedly condemned the October 7 atrocities and also recognized Israel as a Jewish state.

The Channel 13 news survey also showed that a merger between the hardline Arab nationalist party Balad and fellow Arab-majority party Hadash-Ta’al would win eight seats — a better result than if they ran separately, in which case Balad would not cross the electoral threshold, while Hadash-Ta’al would........

© The Times of Israel