Exclusion of the "Joint Arab List" from the Israeli Knesset elections

The "Joint List" includes 3 parties: the "Democratic Front for Peace and Equality" led by Yousef Jabareen, the "Arab Movement for Change" led by Ahmed Tibi, and the "National Democratic Assembly" led by Sami Abu Shehadeh.

For its part, the "Front" party, one of the components of the list, said in a statement in response to the decision: "The Central Elections Committee tramples on the simplest principles of democracy."

The party added: "The campaign of persecution we are facing stems from the desire of the fascist right to curb the participation rate in voting among Arab citizens, in a desperate attempt to cling to power."

It continued: "Despite our reservations about the practices of the Zionist opposition, we are committed to making every possible effort to overthrow the government of the fascist right and replace it with a less harmful and dangerous government."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Central Elections Committee excluded the "United Arab List" party from participating in the elections, in addition to Knesset member Ofer Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh.

In response, Mansour Abbas, head of the "United Arab List," attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: "Abu Ya'ir, who during the previous two election cycles chose not to cooperate with attempts to exclude the United List in the hope of forming a government with it, and even personally negotiated with me at the Prime Minister's residence, now realizes that the only way to prevent the formation of the next government of change is to exclude the United List."

The percentage of Palestinians inside Israel is about 21 percent of the total population of more than 10 million people.

The "Arab 48" news website quoted Joint List leader Yousef Jabareen as saying after the committee's decision: "It can be said that the Central Elections Committee, after today's decisions, deserves the title of the Kahanist Elections Committee."

Jabareen asked: "How can we explain that this committee is erasing all the parties that represent the Arab community in the country, more than 2 million citizens, more than 1.25 million voters?"

He added: "No doubt, this is part of the incitement campaign, the withdrawal of legitimacy, and the political persecution of Arab citizens in general, as well as political representatives and political parties among our masses."

The elections will take place on October 27, and 38 lists have registered to participate, while opinion polls suggest that 13 of them will reach the Knesset.

Forming the government requires obtaining the confidence of at least 61 deputies out of the 120 Knesset members.

Opinion polls indicate that neither the opposition bloc nor Netanyahu's camp will achieve the majority needed to form the government, highlighting the importance of the Arab parties' seats.

However, most leaders of the Jewish opposition parties say they refuse to cooperate with Arab deputies to form a government.

Netanyahu has been heading the current government since late December 2022.

Netanyahu faces corruption charges that would require imprisonment if convicted, and he has been wanted since 2024 to appear before the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Palestinian data indicates that Israel was established in 1948 on lands from which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled during the Nakba, while Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territories it occupied in 1967 and refuses to withdraw from them and establish a Palestinian state in accordance with UN resolutions.