Israel’s top court has overturned an election panel’s ban on Arab parties contesting parliamentary elections this month, saying the decision had not met the legal requirements for excluding them, according to Israeli media.
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decision → overturn → media
The Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously on Friday to undo the Central Elections Committee’s disqualification of the country’s two main Arab-majority political lists – Ra’am, also called the United Arab List, and the Joint List, which is an alliance of Hadash, Ta’al and Balad.
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which → rule → Hadash
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The decision keeps Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up about 20 percent of the population, in the race after critics accused the committee of double standards ahead of the October 27 Knesset vote.
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critics → force → vote
The court also voted 7-2 to reinstate Ofer Cassif, a sitting Jewish member of the Knesset from the Arab-Jewish Hadash party and an outspoken critic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, media reports said.
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reports → vote → Palestinians
The two dissenting justices said Cassif backs “armed struggle against the state of Israel”, which is grounds for his disqualification.
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which → dissent → disqualification
In September, the elections committee voted to disqualify the Joint List and Ra’am as parties, as well as Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the Balad party, as individuals.
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committee → vote → individuals
Balad leader withdraws
The Supreme Court has nearly always overruled the committee when it votes to ban candidates.
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it → withdraw → candidates
However, at a hearing on Thursday, Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit told Abu Shehadeh that a majority of the nine justices favoured disqualifying him from the election.
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majority → tell → election
They gave him until Friday to withdraw, saying that if he did not, he would be disqualified, according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
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he → give → Corporation
Abu Shehadeh withdrew from the election after that.
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Shehadeh → withdraw → that
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, led the push to bar him over an article written after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
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Gvir → lead → October
Abu Shehadeh described the attack as “an important historical event” in the piece, but denies supporting it.
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Shehadeh → describe → it
Balad said in a statement that a court-ordered removal, rather than a voluntary one, would have had “grave consequences for the country’s political and parliamentary life” as it would set a precedent around the removal of Arab candidates.
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it → say → candidates
Double standards
The Ra’am party made history after the 2021 election, becoming the first Arab party to join an Israeli government when it took part in a disparate coalition that briefly removed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.
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that → make → power
Most Palestinian citizens of Israel had stayed out of coalition politics until then.
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citizens → stay → politics
In this election, Ra’am is also fielding a Jewish Zionist candidate for the first time, Yoav Segalovitz, who won popularity in Arab communities for his work to curb crime as deputy minister for internal security.
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who → field → security
The election committee’s September vote drew accusations of a double standard, as Palestinian-led parties faced exclusion while parties led by far-right ministers, some of whom have been sanctioned internationally, stayed on the ballot.
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some → draw → ballot
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Friday, Abu Shehadeh said he withdrew because he “didn’t have any other choices”.
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he → speak → choices
Although the Supreme Court has restored the Arab parties to the ballot, Abu Shehadeh said the reversal did not make the original disqualifications acceptable.
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disqualifications → restore → ballot
“In the end, what happened yesterday was a historical catastrophe for democracy, or the very narrow margins of democracy in the State of Israel,” he said.
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he → happen → Israel
“I was disqualified because I think differently, because I have a different narrative on how to read history, the present, and the future in the place that we live today.”
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we → disqualify → that
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