{"id":5321,"date":"2026-09-24T02:40:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T02:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=5321"},"modified":"2026-09-24T02:40:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T02:40:31","slug":"israel-moves-to-bar-both-main-arab-lists-from-october-election-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=5321","title":{"rendered":"Israel moves to bar both main Arab lists from October election | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 53 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Excluding Ra\u2019am and the Joint List leaves Palestinian citizens in Israel without major Knesset representation options.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Published On 24 Sep 2026<\/span>24 Sep 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Israel\u2019s Central Elections Committee has voted to bar both main Arab electoral lists from next month\u2019s election, putting the political representation of Palestinian citizens of Israel before the Supreme Court weeks before voters go to the polls.<\/p>\n

The committee voted on Wednesday to disqualify the United Arab List, or Ra\u2019am, led by Mansour Abbas, and the Joint List, an alliance of the Arab-led Hadash, Ta\u2019al and Balad parties. It also voted separately to bar Hadash legislator Ofer Cassif and Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh. The election is scheduled for October 27.<\/p>\n

\n

Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n

The bans are not final. Decisions against individual candidates require Supreme Court approval, while lists can appeal their exclusion. Adalah, the legal centre representing the parties and candidates, says it will challenge the votes when the court hears the cases next week.<\/p>\n

Ra\u2019am called its exclusion \u201cpolitical and unacceptable\u201d, saying the decision was intended to prevent it from influencing the balance of power and changing the government.<\/p>\n

The Joint List said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were trying to discourage Arab citizens from voting \u201cbecause they fear our ability to bring down the government of genocide and racism\u201d. Its leader, Yousef Jabareen, questioned how the committee could bar parties representing more than 1.25 million voters.<\/p>\n

Abu Shehadeh told Al Jazeera that his exclusion was an attempt to silence criticism of government policy and said the decisions would be challenged in court and through public protest. Rejecting the allegation that he supports violence, he told The Times of Israel: \u201cI have never called for violence or terrorism. I oppose armed struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The petitions invoke Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset, which allows a list or candidate to be excluded for denying Israel\u2019s existence as a \u201cJewish and democratic state\u201d, inciting racism or supporting armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or an organisation designated as terrorist.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party sought to disqualify the Joint List and Cassif, and was among the groups that filed against Ra\u2019am. Ben-Gvir\u2019s Otzma Yehudit party also sought to bar Abu Shehadeh. Adalah disputes the allegations. It says the case against Ra\u2019am presents no evidence that the party supports armed struggle, while the Joint List petition relies heavily on old material, including bills proposed in previous Knessets.<\/p>\n

\"Israel's
Israel\u2019s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a session at the Knesset, Israel\u2019s parliament, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026 [File: Ronen Zvulun\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Abu Shehadeh\u2019s case has drawn a different response. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara found no legal basis to exclude the other targeted parties and candidates but said an article he published on October 8, 2023, which she said may constitute support for armed struggle, warranted serious examination. The committee voted 31-4 to bar him. Adalah says the article contains no such call.<\/p>\n

The push to bar Abu Shehadeh drew support from parties outside Netanyahu\u2019s coalition. According to The Times of Israel<\/a>, opposition parties voted to disqualify him, as did Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the elections committee.\u00a0The vote broke with decades of precedent in which committee chairs abstained from disqualification votes. Abu Shehadeh\u2019s exclusion still requires approval from the full Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Why the Arab vote matters<\/h2>\n

Ra\u2019am joined the coalition government formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid<\/a> in 2021, helping end Netanyahu\u2019s 12 consecutive years in office\u00a0in 2021, although Abbas had previously discussed cooperation with Netanyahu as well. Now Likud itself has filed petitions against Arab representation, while Ben-Gvir\u2019s party has pursued separate exclusions.<\/p>\n

A Channel 12 poll published on Tuesday projected seven seats for the Joint List and five for Ra\u2019am, against 50 for Netanyahu\u2019s current coalition bloc.\u00a0The 12 projected Arab seats would not automatically back Netanyahu\u2019s opponents, as mainstream opposition parties remain divided over whether to govern with Arab support. But removing both lists would change the possible routes to the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court<\/a> has overturned previous committee bans on Arab lists and candidates, including Balad\u2019s exclusion in 2022. It must now decide whether the evidence meets the legal threshold for barring the two principal lists seeking to represent Palestinian citizens of Israel. The ruling will determine who can appear on the October ballot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Excluding Ra\u2019am and the Joint List leaves Palestinian citizens in Israel without major Knesset representation options. Published On 24 Sep 202624 Sep 2026 Israel\u2019s Central Elections Committee has voted to bar both main Arab electoral lists from next month\u2019s election, putting the political representation of Palestinian citizens of Israel before the Supreme Court weeks before…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t