Israeli Arab party leaders meet with European Union representatives, request EU to provide election monitoring for the upcoming vote in Israel.By World Israel News StaffLeaders of Israel’s newly revived Joint List party have asked European representatives to consider international monitoring of the upcoming Knesset election, claiming that elements associated with the current right-wing government could attempt to interfere with the vote or its aftermath.Hadash chairman Yousef Jabareen, who is set to head the Joint List in the October 27 election, revealed the request during an interview with the Arab-Israeli Al-Nas Radio. He said the matter had been raised during a meeting between leaders of the Arab political alliance and representatives of European Union countries.“There is always a concern that mechanisms associated with the current government will try to influence the elections, whether on Election Day or after the results are announced,” Jabareen said.“Therefore, we requested European international monitoring, and the issue is currently under consideration,” he added.Jabareen did not identify specific government agencies he believes could interfere in the election or publicly provide evidence of a planned effort to manipulate the vote.His comments come just days after Hadash, Ta’al and Balad reached an agreement to revive the Joint List ahead of the national election.Under the arrangement, Jabareen will take the top spot, followed by Ta’al chairman Ahmad Tibi and Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh.The three parties previously ran together as part of the Joint List, an alliance first formed ahead of the 2015 election. The United Arab List, also known as Ra’am and led by Mansour Abbas, was also once part of the alliance but later broke away and subsequently joined the coalition formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid in 2021.The UAL is not participating in the newly formed three-party slate.Jabareen said the European representatives with whom Joint List officials met welcomed the reunification of Hadash, Ta’al and Balad, describing it as a development that strengthens the parties’ political position.The renewed alliance could play an important role in determining the composition of the next Knesset.Arab voter turnout has historically risen when the major Arab parties have run together. The original Joint List won 13 seats in 2015, when Arab turnout was roughly 64%, and reached a high of 15 seats in the March 2020 election amid turnout of nearly 65%.Jabareen also used the interview to draw a distinction between his approach and that of Abbas, whose UAL party has pursued a strategy of potentially joining governing coalitions in exchange for influence over government policy and resources for Arab communities.Jabareen rejected that model, arguing that joining a government necessarily requires accepting its basic political program.“What is the government’s political platform, and does it align with my platform as a political party?” Jabareen asked.He did, however, leave open another avenue through which the Joint List could help form a government after the election.Asked whether the alliance could provide an outside parliamentary “safety net” to an alternative coalition seeking to replace the current right-wing government, Jabareen declined to rule out the possibility.He said such support would depend on the prospective government demonstrating a genuine commitment to advancing peace with the Palestinians, changing government policies toward Arab society and Arab local authorities, and addressing discrimination.Jabareen has made defeating the current government a central objective of the revived alliance.“In the coming weeks, we will work with all our strength to increase voter turnout among our public and ensure that the Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, Smotrich government does not return to power,” he said following the agreement to reunite the three parties.“This is not only our mission, it is the mission of everyone who seeks to change the difficult reality in which we live.”The post Arab Knesset members push for EU to intervene in upcoming Israeli election appeared first on World Israel News.