Unity Government Could Put Jabareen in Opposition Leadership and Inside Israel's Security Briefings
A broad unity government could leave Yousef Jabareen, the Joint List chairman who has repeatedly refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization, entitled to regular security briefings from Israel's prime minister.
Makor Rishon has identified that possibility in its examination of a potential unity coalition. If enough major parties enter government, the Joint List could become the largest faction remaining outside it, putting Jabareen in position to lead the opposition.
Who Stays Outside Could Decide the Post
The largest opposition faction normally nominates the opposition leader. More than half of opposition MKs can choose another member from their ranks by notifying the Knesset speaker in writing. Without that agreement, the largest faction's nominee takes the position.
The governing coalition cannot simply appoint its preferred opposition leader. Separate Arab parties also do not automatically count as one faction: Jabareen heads the Joint List, while Mansour Abbas leads Ra'am.
Once appointed, the opposition leader must be invited by the prime minister for updates on state affairs whenever necessary, and at least once a month. The officeholder can also speak immediately after the prime minister in the Knesset and receives a designated place at state ceremonies.
Those meetings can cover sensitive intelligence. After a September briefing with Yair Lapid, Netanyahu's office said detailed warnings of possible attacks had been presented. His military secretary and an intelligence officer attended.
The law does not grant unrestricted access to every Israeli secret. But the briefing obligation belongs to the office, whoever holds it.
Jabareen's Answer on Hamas
During an October 31 interview with Channel 12, Jabareen was asked repeatedly whether Hamas was a terrorist organization.
"My dear, I am not in an interrogation room," he replied, according to The Times of Israel's account.
He said his party had condemned the October 7 massacre, while continuing to avoid the requested description of Hamas.
The same issue had arisen at an October conference organized by Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. Jabareen rejected the demand to use terminology he said was being imposed by the right and the media. At that conference, he also stated: "We are part of the Palestinians," while advocating a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.
The disagreement has already entered coalition discussions. Incoming Joint List lawmaker Bakr Awawdeh told Jordan's Al-Mamlaka television that the alliance rejected Gadi Eisenkot's four conditions for cooperation and wanted them withdrawn.
Those conditions include recognition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, commitment to the Declaration of Independence, compulsory military or civilian service, and recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization whose military capabilities and governing power in Gaza must be destroyed. Awawdeh rejected the package without giving a separate response to each condition.
Tibi's Years With Arafat and His Words on Hezbollah
Ahmad Tibi, the Joint List's second ranked politician, spent years working directly for the Palestinian leadership.
The Yasser Arafat Foundation lists him as Arafat's special adviser from 1993 to 1999. In 1998, he served as spokesman for the Palestinian delegation at the Wye River negotiations. He has described himself as Palestinian in nationality and Israeli in citizenship.
His admiration for Arafat continued after he entered the Knesset.
"I admired him as a symbol," Tibi said in a 2020 Knesset Channel interview reported by Israel National News. He described their close working relationship and his role arranging contacts between Arafat and Israelis.
An earlier statement addressed resistance against Israel directly. In a March 2, 2008 Palestinian Authority television interview archived and translated by Palestinian Media Watch, Tibi described resistance to occupation as a right and cited Hezbollah approvingly: "as Hezbullah did and was victorious in its resistance."
Lieberman Names the Palestinian Authority
Palestinian political influence is also at the center of an accusation made during the current election investigation.
On November 2, Avigdor Lieberman accused the Palestinian Authority of interfering with both Ra'am and the Joint List. Israel Hayom reported that investigators were examining suspected transfers from the PA intended to encourage voting in Arab communities.
Lieberman explicitly rejected claims that the election had been stolen or that there was evidence of vote fraud. His accusation concerned Palestinian Authority involvement and influence, rather than a finding that ballots or results had been falsified.
N12 subsequently reported that the Shin Bet was examining information about possible PA funding. That inquiry remained preliminary: whether money had passed, how much and for what purpose had not been established. Tibi has denied that the Joint List received illicit election funding from Qatar or another foreign country.
Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg has said the serious funding suspicions must be investigated, while stressing that the evidence before the authorities did not undermine the election results as a whole.
For coalition negotiators, any substantiated findings would need to be considered alongside the responsibility to protect sensitive information. The scope of briefings and the safeguards surrounding them should be addressed before the new opposition leader takes office.
