Who they are
Ahmad Tibi is a doctor who founded Ta’al and has sat in the Knesset since 1999. He has served as deputy speaker and on the Finance Committee. He was Yasser Arafat’s adviser on Israeli affairs.
Born in Taybeh in 1958, where he lives, he was the second of seven children of Haifa Taji of Ramla and Kamel Tibi of Jaffa. He graduated in medicine from the Hebrew University in 1983 and qualified in 1986. He began a gynaecology residency at Hadassah Mount Scopus but was dismissed in 1987 after throwing his bag at a guard and injuring him.
Politically active as a student, he met Arafat in Tunis in 1984 in breach of Israel’s ban on contact with the PLO. Police questioned him several times; he was barred from leaving Israel for a period and once arrested. After Oslo he became Arafat’s adviser and spoke for the Palestinian delegation at the 1998 Wye Plantation summit. He founded Ta’al with Arab academics in 1995. It first ran below the threshold; he later entered the Knesset on a joint list with Azmi Bishara’s Balad, a partnership that broke up soon after the vote.
After two visits to Lebanon in 2005 the attorney general weighed charging him under the anti-infiltration law, then closed the file.
Positions and record
Statehood: In his December 2002 candidate interview, called for ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Equal citizenship: In December 2002, pledged to improve the civil and legal status of Israel’s Arab minority and secure full civic partnership and influence over decision-making.
Crime prevention: In June 2026, opposed diverting Arab society’s education and welfare funding to policing. Called for investment in young people and civilian services to prevent recruitment into crime.
Where they stand
Holds the party line on every issue.