Israel’s Supreme Court has cleared two major Arab-majority political lists to contest the country’s upcoming parliamentary election, overturning decisions by the Central Elections Committee that had sought to bar them from the ballot.

The ruling, delivered on Friday, October 2, restored the United Arab List, known as Ra’am, and the Joint List ahead of the October 27 election for Israel’s 26th Knesset. The court ruled unanimously that the legal threshold required to disqualify the two lists had not been met.

The Central Elections Committee had voted in September to disqualify both lists, along with Knesset member Ofer Cassif and former lawmaker Sami Abu Shehadeh.

The committee’s decisions followed petitions alleging that the Arab parties and candidates had either challenged Israel’s status as a Jewish and democratic state or supported armed activity against the country.

However, the Supreme Court overturned the bans on Ra’am and the Joint List, allowing both groups to remain in the electoral contest.

The court also ruled by 7–2 to allow Ofer Cassif, a Jewish Knesset member affiliated with the Arab-Jewish Hadash party, to contest the election. Two justices disagreed with the majority, arguing that statements and actions attributed to Cassif met the legal grounds for disqualification.

The court's decision followed a hearing in which the eligibility of the parties and candidates was examined under Israel's electoral law. The Attorney General had previously opposed the disqualification of Ra’am, the Joint List and Cassif, arguing that the evidence did not satisfy the demanding legal standard for excluding them from an election.

The case involving Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Balad party, took a different turn.

Abu Shehadeh withdrew his candidacy after the Supreme Court indicated during proceedings that it was likely to uphold the decision against him. As a result, the proceedings concerning his candidacy were dismissed following his withdrawal.

The dispute over Abu Shehadeh centred partly on an article he wrote following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the article, he described the event as an “important historical event.” Abu Shehadeh denied that the statement amounted to support for the attack.

The Central Elections Committee's attempt to exclude the Arab lists and candidates had generated significant political and legal debate in Israel.

Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, made history after the 2021 election by becoming the first independent Arab party to join an Israeli governing coalition. It participated in the coalition that governed Israel from 2021 until 2022.

The Joint List, meanwhile, is an alliance involving the Arab-led Hadash, Ta’al and Balad parties. Both lists draw substantial support from Israel’s Arab and Palestinian citizen population.

Arab citizens of Israel account for roughly one-fifth of the country’s population, making their political participation significant in elections conducted under Israel’s proportional representation system.

The Supreme Court’s latest ruling means Ra’am and the Joint List will remain eligible to compete when Israelis vote on October 27.

The decision also comes as Israel’s political parties prepare for an election that is expected to produce a closely contested Knesset, with the composition of the next parliament determining which political groups can assemble a governing coalition.

For the Arab parties, the ruling preserves their opportunity to compete for parliamentary representation. For other political blocs, their participation could become relevant to coalition negotiations after the election, depending on the number of seats won by each group.

The ruling therefore removes one of the major legal obstacles facing Arab political representation ahead of the October vote, while the separate withdrawal of Abu Shehadeh leaves his candidacy outside the race.