National security minister petitions to disqualify Islamist party from Knesset run

Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party files request with election committee to disqualify the Islamist party that helped Naftali Bennett form a government in 2021.

By World Israel News Staff

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party filed a formal request Wednesday to disqualify the United Arab List (Ra’am) party and its chairman, MK Mansour Abbas, from running in Israel’s October election, accusing the Islamist party of rejecting Israel’s Jewish character and supporting terrorism against the state.

The 39-page petition was submitted to the Central Elections Committee by attorneys Ze’ev Wolf and David Bavli.

Otzma Yehudit argued in the petition that new evidence establishes grounds for disqualification under Section 7A of the Basic Law: The Knesset, which allows a party or candidate to be barred for denying Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state, inciting racism, or supporting armed struggle by an enemy state or terrorist organization against Israel.

“The time has come to say enough,” Ben-Gvir said after filing the request. “The time has come to implement the law and disqualify” the UAL and MK Abbas.

A central part of the petition concerns “Siua 48,” an organization closely associated with the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, of which the UAL is the political arm.

The petition cites findings by Israel’s Registrar of Associations concerning suspected transfers of funds or cooperation with organizations designated as terrorist groups.

The Registrar previously initiated proceedings against Siua 48 after finding concerns over improper conduct and possible dealings with designated organizations abroad.

The petitioners are also asking Sohlberg to order the disclosure of Shin Bet and police investigations into the UAL, MK Abbas, and organizations linked to the party.

The filing comes two weeks after Abbas triggered a political uproar with an Arabic-language Facebook post addressing his previous recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Abbas wrote that accepting that definition was “a reality imposed on us and we did not choose it,” adding that Arab parties “were forced to accept it practically” to avoid being excluded from elections.

In another formulation widely cited by his critics, Abbas wrote: “We were compelled to accept this so we wouldn’t be disqualified from running.”

Abbas maintained that altering his political language did not mean abandoning the Palestinian narrative or his support for Palestinian statehood. He said his strategy of political participation was intended to increase the influence of Arab citizens inside Israel’s political system.

Otzma Yehudit announced immediately after those remarks that it would seek Abbas’ disqualification.

The Noam party, which ran on a joint list with Otzma Yehudit in 2022, had already filed a separate request to bar the UAL, with party chairman MK Avi Maoz arguing that a party that does not accept Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people should not be permitted to compete for Knesset seats.

Wednesday’s petition also accuses Abbas of using different messages for Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking audiences and points to past controversies over his reluctance to explicitly describe Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The UAL has repeatedly rejected allegations that it supports terrorism. In earlier proceedings involving Siua 48, the organization denied wrongdoing and said its activities were humanitarian, describing allegations against it as politically motivated.

This is not the first time Ben-Gvir has sought to have the UAL removed from the ballot.

In 2021, the Central Elections Committee rejected a petition filed by Ben-Gvir and his allies to disqualify the UAL by a 15-3 vote. The attorney general at the time concluded that the evidence did not establish the legal grounds required for disqualification.

Another attempt to disqualify the UAL was rejected by the committee ahead of the 2022 election.

In 2019, the court overturned the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify the joint UAL-Balad list, finding that the evidence did not meet the required standard.

The new petition explicitly challenges that approach, arguing that the October 7 massacre requires a reassessment of what evidence should be sufficient when allegations involve support for armed struggle or links to terrorist groups.

“Democracy must guarantee its citizens the right to life,” the petition states, arguing that a democracy facing an enemy seeking its destruction must be able to defend itself.

The case now moves to the Central Elections Committee as Israel prepares for the October 27 election. Any decision to disqualify Abbas personally would require Supreme Court approval, while a decision concerning the UAL list could ultimately be appealed to the court.

2026 Israeli electionItamar Ben-GvirOtzma Yehudit