Sept. 3 (UPI) --
An Arab member of Israel's Knesset on Tuesday called on Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to commit to an $18.08 billion development plans for the country's Arab sector for his support in the upcoming elections.
Ahmad Tibi, who held a news conference with fellow Knesset member Yousef Jabareen, are members of the minority Joint List, a coalition of four smaller parties that could hold sway in the razor-thin election between the Blue and White Party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party.
Currently, neither party has the 61 Knesset members needed to build a coalition government with national elections fast approaching Sept. 17.
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"The main goal of the Joint List is to change the status of the Arab community and upgrade it," Tibi said. "The best way to do that is to bring down Netanyahu and the Right. But there are terms and conditions for being a preventative faction."
Tibi also said he wants Israeli Arabs to be officially recognized as a minority community and end a law banning Palestinians from moving into Israel via family reunification.
Gantz, a former military general, is providing the most serious challenge to Netanyahu despite having no political experience. He gave some hope to the country's moderates after cutting a deal with centrist party Yesh Atid last spring before April's election.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu announced that he had canceled a planned trip to India, saying that he would reschedule the trip after the elections. The prime minister has touted international relationships, including those with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, as part of his re-election campaign.
Israel had been working on a deal to sell India, which has seen tensions between rival Pakistan intensify over the past month, advanced military weaponry, including spy planes, unmanned aircraft, anti-tank missiles, cannons and radar systems.
