By Ranna Khalil | Researcher
Israeli Supreme Court Overturns Disqualifications of Arab Party Lists and MK Ofer Cassif, but Palestinian Leader Forced to Withdraw
Dear Friends,
In September 2026, Adalah represented all Arab political party lists and two candidates facing disqualification motions filed by right-wing parties before Israel’s Central Elections Committee (CEC) and, subsequently, the Supreme Court. These motions sought to exclude all Arab political representatives from the October 2026 Knesset elections.
The cases concerned the United Arab List (Ra’am), led by MK Mansour Abbas; the Joint List, led by former MK Dr. Yousef Jabareen; MK Ofer Cassif of Jabha/Hadash; and former MK Dr. Sami Abu Shehadeh, the chair of Tajammu’/Balad. Adalah represented all four in proceedings before the CEC and an expanded nine-justice Supreme Court panel. Adalah also represented the Tajammu’/Balad party before the CEC, which rejected the disqualification request on procedural grounds.
The CEC proceedings were part of a broader attempt to delegitimize Palestinian citizens of Israel and their elected representatives, with the right-wing using the disqualification process as a vehicle for political propaganda and racist incitement.
The Supreme Court overturned the disqualifications of the Joint List and the United Arab List and rejected the motion against Cassif. However, after the Court indicated that a majority of justices favored disqualifying Abu Shehadeh, he withdrew his candidacy to avoid a formal ruling that could seriously harm both him and Balad.
These cases expose the vulnerability of Palestinian citizens’ political rights and the unequal standards applied to political participation. None of the Jewish-Israeli far right-wing parties, whose leaders had repeatedly made explicit calls for violence against Palestinians, were disqualified. Remarkably, the Attorney General opposed disqualifying both Itamar Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism-Zehut party. Her position was that, despite troubling statements and evidence of alleged incitement to racism, the exceptionally high legal threshold for disqualification had not been met.
Dr. Sami Abu Shehadeh: Forced Out of the Knesset Race in an Unprecedented Move
The case against Dr. Sami Abu Shehadeh rested on a single Arabic-language article he published on 8 October 2023, in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel. The right-wing initiators of the motion, later joined by the Attorney General, claimed that the article showed that Shehadeh “supported the armed struggle of a terror organization”. Adalah argued instead that the article examined the political context of the events and contained no call for violence or support for terror.
Adalah further argued that the CEC assessed the article in isolation, disregarding Abu Shehadeh’s decades of public and parliamentary activity, consistent opposition to violence, and calls for peace, justice, and equality for Israelis and Palestinians.
Under established Supreme Court precedent, Adalah maintained, disqualification requires a “critical mass” of clear and convincing evidence, with any doubt resolved in favor of allowing a candidate to stand for election.
Following the hearing, the Supreme Court President announced that a majority of justices supported disqualification and suggested that Abu Shehadeh withdraw rather than await a final ruling on the merits. In these circumstances, Abu Shehadeh withdrew his candidacy.
In Adalah’s view: For the first time since the enactment of Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset in 1985, the Supreme Court effectively forced a Palestinian leader and citizen of Israel out of the Knesset elections. The outcome is an unprecedented and unlawful restriction on Palestinian political representation, and it effectively establishes two separate tracks for political participation: one for Jewish Israelis and another for Palestinians, whose leaders could be excluded from elections on the basis of a single published article.
The Joint List, the United Arab List, and MK Ofer Cassif: Supreme Court Rejects Disqualification Attempts
Although Abu Shehadeh was forced to withdraw, on 2 October 2026, the Supreme Court overturned the CEC’s decisions to disqualify the Joint List and the United Arab List, and rejected the motion to disqualify MK Ofer Cassif. These outcomes affirmed Adalah’s central argument that the evidence presented against the parties and Cassif did not meet the legal threshold for disqualification.
On 23 September, the CEC voted to disqualify the Joint List, which brings together candidates from Jabha/Hadash, Tajammu’/Balad, and Ta’al parties. Adalah argued that the motion relied largely on outdated material, previous legislative proposals, and political positions already examined by the Court. The Court unanimously overturned the disqualification.
The CEC had also voted to disqualify the United Arab List over allegations that it supported armed struggle against Israel. The Court unanimously overturned this decision as well, finding the evidence insufficient to meet the legal standard.
Finally, the CEC voted to disqualify MK Ofer Cassif over claims that his criticism of the Israeli government and the military during wartime amounted to support for the enemy. The Court rejected the motion by a 7-2 majority.
Highlights of Media Coverage
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The Adalah Team
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