Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List, one of the primary Arab-Israeli political coalitions, has indicated a shift in Palestinian attitudes toward the two-state solution amid the volatile political landscape in Israel. Speaking ahead of Israel’s general elections scheduled for October 27, Jabareen outlined a vision that diverges from traditional calls for separate Palestinian statehood, advocating instead for a bi-national state that would integrate Israelis and Palestinians within a single political framework.
Jabareen, a legal scholar who has taught in the United States, described the current Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a priority to be removed, deploring what he characterized as far-right control that has intensified community divisions and violence. The rise of figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir and policies proposed by Bezalel Smotrich—who has called for the "Judaization" of areas with significant Arab populations—have heightened tensions following the October 7 attack by Hamas, which left over 1,200 Israelis dead and deepened mistrust between Jewish and Arab citizens.
The Joint List is expected to gain between eight and ten seats in the upcoming Knesset elections, potentially doubling the representation of the Arab parliamentary factions compared to the United Arab List (Ra’am), which briefly participated in the previous coalition government. However, Jabareen expressed reluctance to formally join any coalition viewed as perpetuating occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, citing political and ethical concerns among Palestinians and the international community.
While he ruled out direct participation in government, Jabareen signaled openness to supporting a minority administration from outside the coalition, similar to the Arab party’s support for Yitzhak Rabin’s government in the 1990s. Nevertheless, he emphasized that such support would come with conditions, including increased government funding for Arab-Israeli communities and credible efforts toward equitable governance.
On the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jabareen acknowledged the difference between accepting and insisting on the two-state solution. He suggested that many Palestinians might now be willing to consider a single, bi-national state that encompasses both Israel proper and the occupied territories, provided Palestinians receive full civil and voting rights. In this model, national groups would retain recognition within a unified political entity, replacing the aspiration for independent Palestinian sovereignty with a framework for equal citizenship.
Such a transformation would have profound implications for Israel’s identity, potentially leading to the erosion of its status as a Jewish state due to demographic realities in Israel and the territories. Jabareen conceded that this proposal is unlikely to gain support across most of the Israeli political spectrum but stressed that Palestinians might be more open to this pragmatic alternative given the persistent hardships of the current political and security situation.
The Joint List leader’s remarks underscore evolving Palestinian perspectives in response to new political realities, marking a shift toward solutions based on equality within a single state rather than an independent two-state paradigm. Whether this signals a broader reconsideration of longstanding positions remains to be seen in the complex lead-up to Israel’s next government formation.