Yisrael Beiteinu to Back Disqualification of Arab Parties, MKs

The Yisrael Beiteinu party, led by Avigdor Lieberman, announced Wednesday it will vote to disqualify the Joint List, the Ra'am party, and individual lawmakers Ofer Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh from running in the upcoming Knesset elections. The party stated its reasoning is opposition to any party that does not consider the elimination of Hamas a central objective for the next government.

"Any Zionist government that is established after the elections must define the elimination of Hamas as a central objective of its security policy," Yisrael Beiteinu said in a statement. "Any party that opposes this has no place in the Knesset in Israel. Therefore, we will vote to disqualify the Joint List, Ra'am, Ofer Cassif, and Sami Abu Shehadeh."

The Central Elections Committee is scheduled to convene on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss approximately ten disqualification requests for various parties and candidates. The hearings, chaired by Central Elections Committee head Justice Noam Sohlberg, will begin at 9:00 AM daily and be broadcast live.

Among the requests to be discussed are three seeking the disqualification of Ra'am, submitted by Otzma Yehudit, Likud, and the "Voters for Life" forum. Otzma Yehudit is also targeted by two disqualification requests, from "Zehut L'Shivyon v'Zchuyot Adam" (Right for Equality and Human Rights) and the Democrats. The Democrats face a disqualification request from Otzma Yehudit, while the Religious Zionism and Identity lists face a request from "Zeut." Balad party is subject to a disqualification request from "Orot HaShachar." The Joint List and MK Ofer Cassif face a disqualification request from Likud, and Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh faces a request from Otzma Yehudit.