Ra’am, the Joint List, Balad, and two Joint List candidates have formally contested multiple attempts to disqualify them from participating in the upcoming election for Israel’s 26th Knesset. The challenges, filed with the Central Elections Committee (CEC), seek to bar the groups and individuals on grounds related to alleged support for armed struggle against Israel and rejection of the country's character as a Jewish and democratic state.

Legal representatives from Adalah submitted responses on Friday on behalf of Ra’am (the United Arab List), the Joint List coalition, Balad, MK Ofer Cassif, and former MK Sami Abu Shehadeh. To date, no disqualifications have been made; the CEC is scheduled to hear the cases before voting on whether to uphold or reject the challenges.

These disputes reflect the evolving alliances among four political factions primarily representing Arab citizens of Israel. The Joint List currently comprises Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad, while Ra’am runs independently. The four had originally formed a joint alliance prior to the 2015 election, but Ra’am exited in 2021. Subsequently, Hadash and Ta’al ran together in 2022, with Balad initially running separately but rejoining for the upcoming vote, leading to the current two-list configuration.

Among the six disqualification requests, Orot Hasharon party has asked that Balad be barred outright, despite its status as part of the Joint List. Balad counters that Israeli election law permits disqualification of entire lists or individual candidates, but not a party embedded within a broader slate. If the CEC accepts this legal interpretation, it may dismiss that petition without addressing the factual claims.

Other challenges invoke criteria from the Basic Law: The Knesset, which permits disqualification if a list or candidate is found to reject Israel’s Jewish and democratic identity, incite racism, or support armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terror group. The Supreme Court has established stringent standards for disqualification, requiring clear evidence that such prohibited positions are central to a party's platform, beyond isolated statements or acts.

Three separate petitions target Ra’am, submitted by Otzma Yehudit and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Likud, and the Choosing Life forum. These contend that Ra’am maintains organizational or ideological ties to the southern branch of the Islamic Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood. The claims cite a July 2025 report from the Registrar of Associations and legal proceedings involving nonprofit groups Aid 48, Humanitarian Deeds Association, and Al-Aqsa Association, alleging that donations handled via Ra’am-linked channels may have reached Hamas-affiliated entities.

Ra’am rejects any formal connections to these organizations and maintains that the evidence cited does not implicate the party or demonstrate support for armed struggle by Hamas or other groups. The party also highlights that none of the nonprofit officials has faced terror financing charges, and recalls a 2022 decision where the attorney general’s submission, including a Shin Bet review, led the CEC to unanimously reject a similar disqualification attempt.

Ra’am has further emphasized chairman Mansour Abbas’s public condemnations of the October 7 Hamas attacks and his outreach to hostage families.

Likud has sought to bar both the Joint List and MK Ofer Cassif, referencing party platforms, draft legislation, public statements, and Cassif’s international political activity. The Joint List argues that the material cited is outdated or misrepresented and was considered in prior election review processes. Likud contends that Cassif’s critical comments on Israel during the conflict and his overseas engagements amount to aiding the enemy’s armed struggle, although Cassif has not been formally charged with wrongdoing and no judicial ruling supports this claim. Cassif has stated that he denounces violence and condemned Hamas’s attacks.

Further, Otzma Yehudit and Ben-Gvir have petitioned to disqualify Sami Abu Shehadeh, Balad’s leader and a candidate on the Joint List, over an Arabic-language article he published on October 8, 2023. The piece described the Hamas assault as an "important historic event" in strategic terms, a characterization the petitioners say amounts to praise for the attack. Abu Shehadeh defends the article as a political analysis not endorsing violence or civilian deaths. He acknowledged that, had he been aware of the full extent of the atrocities at the time, he would not have written the piece.

The Central Elections Committee, chaired by Justice Noam Sohlberg and composed of representatives from Knesset factions, will review the submissions and eventually vote. Any disqualification decisions can be appealed to Israel’s Supreme Court, where final determinations are made.