[14] The party was established prior to the 1996 election, unrelated to the original United Arab List that existed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

It was joined in an electoral alliance by the Arab Democratic Party (which held two seats in the outgoing parliament) and the southern faction of the Islamic Movement, led by Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish.

After the electoral threshold to gain Knesset seats was raised from 2% to 3.25%, the party joined with Hadash, Balad, Ta'al, and the Islamic Movement to form the Joint List for the 2015 election.

[21] Within the fragmented political landscape of Israel, these seats gave the party the role of kingmaker in determining the next government after Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form one.

[32] At the United Arab List's urging the coalition government recognized several Bedouin villages and connected thousands of previously-illegal homes to the electrical grid.

[40] Under Abbas's direction, the party advocates for the full-fledged political involvement with the domestic politics of Israel in order to improve the quality of life of Arab Israelis, particularly with respect to crime, employment opportunities, housing, and infrastructure; this is a departure from other Arab parties, which historically form part of the opposition and focus on the larger Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

[41][42][43][44][45] The party supports the two-state solution, and the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

[48] According to The Times of Israel, the party and its leader Mansour Abbas hold a "virulently anti-gay outlook" and have "regularly disparaged gay people with an Arabic slur meaning 'perverts'".