Israel’s highest court unanimously reversed a ban on Arab parties from participating in elections slated for the end of October.
7, 2023 Hamas attack , which described the assault as a natural response to Israeli policy. Neither Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, nor his main opponent, former general Gadi Eisenkot, are expected to clinch a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament, according to most public opinion polls. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court announced that it would likely uphold a related central election committee ban against Sami Abu Shehadeh, an Arab-Israeli politician.
The court said Abu Shehadeh might have crossed the threshold for supporting a terrorist group, citing an op-ed he wrote immediately after the Oct. In the first election since the attack, anti-Arab rhetoric has featured in the campaigns of many right-wing parties, which say Arab influence in the government would be a national security threat. That means negotiations would likely follow with other parties to form a government.
27 vote.
“We will go to the ballots in droves,” the Joint List said a statement following the Supreme Court ruling, in a reference to remarks by Netanyahu in 2015. In a last-ditch effort to mobilize his base 11 years ago, the prime minister warned that the Israeli Right was in danger as Arab-Israelis flocked to the polls “in droves.” The Supreme Court ruling Friday came after a move last week by Israel’s central elections committee, a body controlled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his right-wing bloc, to prohibit all four Arab-majority parties registered in the Oct.
