Mayor of northern town Ma'alot-Tarshiha Shlomo Buhbut recently called for the establishment of a new Jewish-Arab political party to represent Galilee residents.

Buhbut proposed this at a coexistence conference Thursday in Ma'alot-Tarshiha to mark 50 years since the town's founding, in which Jewish and Arab figures from politics and academia participated.

"The party will be established by people who have already proven themselves in the field. If MKs don't want regional elections then we will have to force them to create a regional party," the Mayor said.

	Advertisement

Buhbut added: "The central problem is that most ministers live within the heart of the bubble, in the country's center."

Buhbut also proposed the implementation of a "cluster" program, whereby a number of local authorities unite and work together on projects such as the formation of joint industrial areas.