Joint List Disqualified from Upcoming Elections by Central Elections Committee

The Central Elections Committee has decided to disqualify the Joint List from running in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. This decision follows earlier disqualifications of the Ra'am party, as well as Knesset members Ofer Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party.

The requests to disqualify Ra'am were submitted by the Otzma Yehudit party, the Likud party, and "Voters in Life." The committee's decision regarding the Joint List means the final determination of their participation will now move to the Supreme Court.

The Ra'am disqualification was discussed as part of a broader day of hearings on disqualification requests submitted ahead of the elections. In total, seven hearings were scheduled for disqualification requests: two against individual candidates and five against party lists.

Earlier on Wednesday, the committee disqualified Abu Shehadeh based on a request from Otzma Yehudit. Thirty-one committee members voted in favor of his disqualification, with four opposed. In an unusual move, the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg, participated in the vote and voted for disqualification, stating that the case was clear. The committee also accepted the Likud party's request to disqualify MK Ofer Cassif, with 19 members voting for disqualification, five against, and two abstaining. The Likud's request against Cassif cited his alleged negation of Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state, and the committee accepted it due to his support for armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terror organization.

These disqualification decisions are not final. The Supreme Court will make the ultimate ruling on the candidates and lists that have been disqualified.