UNITED ARAB LIST (al-Laʿiha al-Arabiyya al-Muwahhada, in Arabic; Ha-Reshimah Ha-Aravit Ha-Me'uhedet, in Hebrew)

Israeli electoral alliance formed in September 1993 in anticipation of municipal elections and uniting a number of Israeli Arab candidates of diverse views under the leadership of Abed Quseibi. In April 1996, in preparation for the Knesset elections of 29 May, when for the first time Knesset members and the prime minister were to be elected on separate ballots, the list was reconstituted under the impetus of Abdulmalik Dehamshe. On it were joined the Israeli Islamic Movement, to which Dahamshe belonged, and the Arab Democratic Party of Abdul Wahab Darawshe. The list won four deputy seats in the Knesset, which were taken by Darawshe, Talib al-Sanaa, Tawfiq Khatib, and Dehamshe, the first Islamist ever to sit in the Knesset. On 18 May 1999, following the general elections, which saw the victory of the Labor Party's leader, Ehud Barak, the United Arab List consolidated its position by winning five seats, two of which went to the Israeli Islamic Movement. Before 2001, the United Arab List generally supported the Labor Party, which officially advocates a peace accord with the Palestinians. In the February 2001 election for prime minister, faced with a choice between the incumbent, Ehud Barak, and Ariel Sharon of Likud, the leadership recommended abstention. In the Knesset elections of 2001, United Arab List won five seats; in the 2003 elections, two seats. The United Arab List favors the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the dismantling of all Israeli settlements. Within Israel it favors full civil rights for Palestinian Israelis, making Israel a "state of all its citizens."

SEE ALSO Arab Democratic Party;Barak, Ehud;Darawshe, Abdul Wahab;Dehamshe, Abdulmalik;Gaza Strip;Israeli Islamic Movement;Israel Labor Party;Likud;Sharon, Ariel;West Bank.