President Mahmoud Abbas received a delegation from the Arab Joint List in the presidency headquarters in Ramallah Tuesday evening.
The delegation included head of Arab Joint List Ayman Odeh, and members Masoud Ghanayim, Jamal Zahalqa, and Usama al-Saadi.
Member of the Fatah movement’s central committee, Muhammad al-Madani, also attended the meeting.
Abbas congratulated the delegation on their 14-seat win in the 20th Israeli Knesset elections that took place earlier this month, and the delegation applauded the President’s efforts and his persistence to national rights.
The Joint List, an alliance formed by four Arab parties -- United Arab List, Ta'al, Balad and Hadash -- was the first time parties representing Palestinian citizens in Israel have joined forces.
Their voter response drew sharp reaction from recently reelected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose racist statements and election tactics received international criticism.
In efforts to repair his path of diplomatic destruction in the run up to the election, Netanyahu released statements apologizing for his racist remarks as well as denounce his previous allegiance to preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state if reelected.
His statements were not well received by the Joint List or Palestinian leadership in the West Bank.
Joint List Leader responded to Netanyahu in saying, "His excuses are not acceptable because not only does Benjamin Netanyahu plan to bring in racist legislation but his words challenged the very right of Arab Israelis to vote for the Knesset."
Abbas publicly supported the Joint List in the run up to elections, on the grounds of supporting a political party within Israel that opposes "racism, discrimination and apartheid."
