The Likud party announced Sunday evening that it will submit formal requests to disqualify the Joint List and Ra'am from the upcoming Knesset elections. In a statement, Likud called the Arab parties 'terror supporters' and said they are the natural partners of opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, who seeks to form a government with Yair Golan and Avigdor Lieberman. 'There is no room in the Knesset for those who harm IDF soldiers and cannot call Hamas and Hezbollah terror organizations,' the party said.
The Likud party on Sunday evening at 21:47 Jerusalem issued an official statement confirming it will file petitions to disqualify both the Joint List and Ra'am from the upcoming Knesset elections. The statement, which expands on earlier party announcements, directly ties the Arab-majority parties to opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, labeling them as "terror supporters" and claiming they are his "natural partners" in a potential coalition with Yair Golan and Avigdor Lieberman.
The development follows a sequence of reports by The Zioneer. At 21:11 Jerusalem, the desk first reported that Likud would file a petition to disqualify the Joint List. At 21:26, Likud legal advisor Ilan Bombach confirmed the party would submit the formal request tomorrow. The current statement, released at 21:47, broadens the disqualification effort to include Ra'am and adds a political attack linking the Arab parties to the opposition leadership.
The move continues a recurring tactic in Israeli elections, where parties seek to bar lists they claim support terrorism or reject the state's Jewish character. As The Zioneer has reported, Likud previously attacked opposition figures over potential partnerships with Arab parties — on August 19, the party accused Yair Golan of advocating for a Palestinian "terror state," and on August 10, MK Gilad Erdan stated he would not sit in a government with Ra'am and the Joint List. The petitions will be reviewed by the Central Elections Committee, with possible appeal to the Supreme Court. It remains unclear whether the petitions will be filed together or separately, and what specific grounds Likud will cite beyond the general accusation of terror support.
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