Israeli Parties Submit Candidate Lists for General Election
Israeli political parties are submitting their candidate lists and ballot symbols to the Central Elections Committee chairman, Judge Noam Sohlberg, on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the upcoming general elections. The Joint List is reportedly delaying its submission until Tuesday due to an internal crisis concerning its second candidate, Jaafar Farah, who faces harassment allegations and has refused to withdraw his candidacy. The Front's council is meeting Monday evening to address the issue.
The submission process began Sunday, with the far-right "Amcha Israel" party, led by Ofer Vinter, being the first to submit its list. This move is seen as an attempt to preempt pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is reportedly urging Vinter to ally with other right-wing parties to ensure the party crosses the electoral threshold.
Other parties expected to submit their lists on Monday include "The Democrats," led by Yair Golan, and "Yisrael Beiteinu," led by Avigdor Lieberman. The "B'Yachad" list, headed by Naftali Bennett, has already published its candidates, while "Yashar," led by Gadi Eisenkot, is expected to announce its list on Monday. However, Bennett's and Eisenkot's parties have not yet finalized a potential alliance, with polls suggesting a joint list would not significantly increase their Knesset representation.
The Likud party has not revealed its final candidate list, with media reports indicating Netanyahu is considering moving some of his appointees from the top ten spots to the second ten, amidst internal pressure for the top ten to reflect primary election results. Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir has not announced his full list, following MK Tal Gottlieb's move from Likud to Otzma Yehudit, with Ben-Gvir stating she will run in the second position. Otzma Yehudit and the technical alliance between Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich, and "Zeut," led by Moshe Feiglin, are expected to submit their lists on Tuesday.
Ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and "Yahadut HaTorah" have also not yet announced their full candidate lists. Degel HaTorah, part of Yahadut HaTorah, announced five candidates on Sunday, but its partner, Agudat Yisrael, has not yet declared its list. The Shas "Council of Torah Sages" reportedly discussed the party's candidate list on Sunday.
