Joint List Disqualified from Knesset Election by Central Elections Committee

The Central Elections Committee has disqualified the Joint List from running in the upcoming Knesset elections, hours after banning the Ra'am party and the Balad party's chairman. The decision now moves to the Supreme Court for final review, as is customary in such cases.

A statement from the Joint List condemned the committee's decision, calling it a violation of democratic principles and accusing the "fascist right" of trying to suppress Arab voter turnout. "Despite our reservations about everything that stemmed from the actions of the Zionist opposition, we are committed to making every effort to bring down the fascist right-wing government and replace it with a less bad and dangerous government," the statement read.

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee, participated in the vote to disqualify Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, breaking with precedent. Sohlberg explained his rare intervention, stating that he found no satisfactory response to "serious things" said by Abu Shehadeh, specifically regarding support for "armed struggle."

Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Otzma Yehudit party, who filed the disqualification request, celebrated the decision. "We must not allow terrorist Sami Abu Shehadeh to be in the Knesset. Whoever sits on the day of the massacre writing an article praising the murders, kidnappings, and rapes of Hamas has his place in the Syrian parliament, not the Israeli one," Ben-Gvir stated.

The Supreme Court will have the final say on whether to uphold the committee's disqualification of the Joint List, Ra'am, and Abu Shehadeh.