Israel's Election Committee Approves 38 Candidate Lists for Knesset Vote

Israel's Central Elections Committee, headed by Judge Noam Sohlberg, has approved the candidate lists and ballot letters for 38 parties vying in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. The committee finalized the lists on Sunday after reviewing the submissions.

Notable parties approved include "Ra'am" (the United Arab List), "Likud" led by Benjamin Netanyahu, "Blue and White" led by Benny Gantz, and "Religious Zionism" led by Bezalel Smotrich. Other lists include "Otzma Yehudit" led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, "Yisrael Beiteinu" led by Avigdor Lieberman, and "Yair Golan's Democrats."

In a separate, significant decision, the committee disqualified Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, and Ofer Cassif, a Knesset member from the Hadash party. The committee also initially disqualified Ra'am and the Joint List, though an appeal to the Supreme Court is expected to overturn these decisions. Committee head Sohlberg broke with tradition by voting in favor of disqualifying Abu Shehadeh, citing clear reasons for the decision. Abu Shehadeh denied accusations of calling for armed struggle against Israel, stating his belief in peaceful methods.

Additionally, the committee rejected the first choice of letters for the "Paradise" list, "YH," due to concerns about public sentiment, approving their second choice, "H." The "Takumah and Dam" list was approved conditionally pending a Supreme Court ruling, as the committee had previously barred them from participating in the elections under Basic Law: The Knesset and disqualified two of their candidates.

Leaders of the "change bloc" have signed a principles document aimed at replacing the current government.