Arab parties in Israel election preparations changed significantly after Israel’s Supreme Court overturned decisions barring two predominantly Arab electoral lists from participating in the October 27 Knesset election, while Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh separately withdrew his candidacy before the court ruled on his case.

The Central Elections Committee had voted on September 23 to disqualify the Joint List, the United Arab List, or Ra’am, Hadash lawmaker Ofer Cassif and Abu Shehadeh. The decisions were challenged before Israel’s Supreme Court.

On October 2, the High Court unanimously overturned the committee’s bans on the Joint List and Ra’am. It also rejected, by a 7-2 majority, the decision to bar Cassif from running, finding that the legal threshold required for electoral disqualification had not been met.

Arab Parties in Israel Election Return to Ballot

The ruling restored the Joint List and Ra’am to the election ballot.

The Joint List includes candidates from Hadash, Balad and Ta’al, while Ra’am is led by Mansour Abbas. Both had been excluded by the Central Elections Committee before appealing to the Supreme Court.

Israel’s Basic Law allows candidates or electoral lists to be disqualified under specific circumstances, including certain forms of racist incitement or support for armed struggle against Israel.

Supreme Court precedent has traditionally required a high evidentiary threshold before a candidate or party can be excluded from an election. Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, argued in its appeals that the evidence against the Arab lists did not meet that standard.

Sami Abu Shehadeh Withdraws Before Ruling

The situation involving Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh developed differently.

During an October 1 hearing, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit indicated that a majority of the nine-justice panel was prepared to uphold the Central Elections Committee’s decision barring Abu Shehadeh.

Abu Shehadeh subsequently withdrew his candidacy before the court issued a formal judgment in his individual case. His party said the withdrawal was intended to avoid a judicial precedent that could affect future candidacies. That explanation reflects Balad and Adalah’s stated position rather than an independent finding by the court.

Because he withdrew, the Supreme Court ultimately did not issue a ruling on whether Abu Shehadeh personally met the legal standard for disqualification.

Ben-Gvir Claims Political Victory

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit party supported efforts to disqualify Abu Shehadeh, publicly celebrated his withdrawal.

Ben-Gvir said his party had prevented the Balad leader from entering the Knesset and pledged to pursue similar action against other lawmakers.

However, the procedural record is more specific: Abu Shehadeh withdrew before a final judgment, while the court separately overturned the bans affecting the Joint List, Ra’am and Ofer Cassif.

Why Candidates Can Be Disqualified

The legal framework governing candidate disqualification developed partly from events surrounding politician Meir Kahane in the 1980s.

Israel amended its Basic Law in 1985 to include incitement to racism among the grounds on which electoral participation could be prohibited. The law was later expanded to include support for armed struggle by an enemy state or terrorist organization against Israel.

Those provisions have since been invoked in challenges involving candidates from different parts of Israel’s political spectrum.

In the 2026 cases, petitions against the Arab parties and candidates alleged that statements or political activity crossed those statutory boundaries. Lawyers representing the affected lists disputed that characterization and argued the evidence was insufficient.

Dispute Over Abu Shehadeh Article

The case against Abu Shehadeh focused heavily on an article he wrote on October 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Those seeking his disqualification argued that the article constituted support for armed struggle against Israel. Abu Shehadeh rejected that interpretation and said his political record did not support such a conclusion.

The Supreme Court never issued a final written ruling resolving that dispute because Abu Shehadeh ended his candidacy beforehand.

Arab Political Representation Remains Central Issue

The legal dispute has renewed attention on Arab political representation in Israel.

Arab citizens of Israel participate in national elections through several political movements representing different ideological traditions, including nationalist, Islamist, socialist and Arab-Jewish platforms.

Supporters of the disqualification petitions argued that electoral law must prevent candidates or parties that cross statutory limits from sitting in parliament. Opponents, including Adalah, argued that the 2026 proceedings were discriminatory and applied legal standards unevenly. That remains a contested political and legal debate.

For the Arab parties in Israel election, the immediate legal position is now clearer: the Joint List and Ra’am may compete in the October 27 election, Cassif remains eligible to run, and Abu Shehadeh is no longer a candidate after withdrawing.

The Supreme Court decisions resolved the ballot status of the parties but did not settle the wider political debate over Israel’s candidate-disqualification laws and their application.

Source: Arab News / Israel Supreme Court reportingTop 10 / Adalah