Ghanem said the Joint List's failures, combined with the collapse of any peace-making efforts to end the occupation, had encouraged a move away from ideological politics among many Palestinian voters in Israel.
"People are instead increasingly focusing on their own personal concerns," he said.
He pointed to recent local elections in Nazareth, the largest Palestinian-majority city in Israel, where the main political parties bowed out and left the mayoral race to two independent candidates.
The trend away from ideological politics was being reinforced, as elsewhere, by new media that offered people a wider set of perspectives.
"Generally, people feel more confused, and want clear, strong figures like a Netanyahu or a Trump," Ghanem said. "Tibi can exploit that trend."
Gaining more influenceTibi said it was vital for the parties to find a way to make alliances with centre and centre-left Jewish parties in the current climate.
"It is not just about getting more Arab legislators into the Knesset," he said. "It is about having more legislators who can have an influence, who can help shape the choice of the prime minister. That is imperative if we are going to bring down Netanyahu and the right."
Tibi said he hoped that, by rebuilding the credibility of the Palestinian parties, they would be in a position to form a "blocking majority" in the Knesset, similar to the situation in the early 1990s.
Then, a newly elected centre-left coalition headed by Yitzhak Rabin needed the support of the Palestinian parties to push through the Oslo Accords, against fierce opposition from the right, led by Netanyahu.
Rabin did so through an arrangement with Palestinian legislators that they would back the coalition from outside the government.
"We helped Rabin achieve his goals and in return the situation of our community improved, with more rights and higher budgets," said Tibi. "We can be in that position again but only if we can regain the confidence of our community."
Calls for boycottTibi and others believe that, if the turnout among Palestinian citizens returns to the levels of the 1980s, the minority could elect several more legislators, potentially tipping the balance towards a centre-left government.
But for that happen, the Palestinian parties will need to overturn growing apathy and frustration from their voters, warned Ghanem.
Salman Masalha, a Palestinian columnist for Haaretz newspaper, called the Palestinian members of the Knesset "a fig leaf" whose participation served only to "beautify the state to the world, making it look like a vibrant democracy".
He argued for a boycott of the election, playing on Netanyahu's 2015 election incitement: "Arab citizens must respond, 'the Arabs are boycotting in droves' the scam of Israeli democracy."
A boycott of the national elections is the official platform of two factions: the small, staunchly secular Abnaa al-Balad (Sons of the Land) party and the popular northern wing of the Islamic Movement, under Sheikh Raed Salah, which the Netanyahu government outlawed four years ago.
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