Israel Supreme Court restores Arab parties to ballot

Israel's Supreme Court on Friday restored two Arab parties to the ballot for the October 27 election, overturning an electoral committee made up of lawmakers.

The court unanimously allowed the United Arab List and another Arab party to run. The United Arab List had joined a government in 2021 that briefly removed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power.

The justices also reinstated the candidacy of Ofer Cassif, a far-left sitting Jewish member of parliament and critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, by a 7-2 vote. The two dissenting justices said Cassif supported "armed struggle against the state of Israel", grounds for disqualification.

The ruling came after Sami Abu Shehadeh, who heads the left-wing Palestinian Balad Party, withdrew his candidacy late Thursday. At a hearing, justices had suggested they would support the ban on him.

Balad said a court-ordered removal rather than a voluntary withdrawal would have had "grave consequences for the country's political and parliamentary life".

A far-right ally of Netanyahu had led the effort to disqualify Abu Shehadeh over an article he wrote after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Abu Shehadeh described the attack in the article as an "important historical event" but denied supporting it.

Arab citizens of Israel make up about 20 percent of the country's population. Most identify as Palestinians and, until 2021, had stayed out of Israeli coalition politics.

The United Arab List, also known as Raam, is also running a Jewish Zionist candidate, Yoav Segalovitz, who gained popularity in Arab communities for police work aimed at curbing crime.