Israel's Supreme Court on October 2, 2026, unanimously overturned the Central Elections Committee's decision to disqualify all Arab-majority parties from the October 27 general election, reinstating their eligibility to run. This ruling ensures that these parties, projected to win between 12 and 14 seats in the 120-member Knesset, remain on the ballot.

The Supreme Court’s action maintains the potential for Arab-led parties to significantly influence the formation of Israel’s next government. Polls suggest that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition is likely to secure an outright majority of 61 seats, positioning smaller parties as potential kingmakers.

What the records show

On September 23, 2026, Israel’s Central Elections Committee (CEC) voted to disqualify all Arab-majority parties, including the Joint List and Ra’am, from the upcoming election. The CEC also moved to disqualify individual candidates Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, and Ofer Cassif on the same day. The committee cited allegations of supporting armed struggle against Israel and rejecting Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state as grounds for disqualification.

On October 2, 2026, the Supreme Court, however, unanimously reversed these bans on the Arab-led parties. The court cleared the Joint List, Ra’am, and MK Ofer Cassif to contest the election. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had opposed the parties' disqualification but supported the disqualification of Sami Abu Shehadeh, mainly on the grounds of supporting armed struggle. Following indications from the justices that a majority favored his disqualification, Sami Abu Shehadeh subsequently withdrew his candidacy, making him the only individual removed from the ballot.

The parties and their positions

The Joint List, an alliance of Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad, is led by Yousef Jabareen. Jabareen stated the bloc would use “all available tools” to remove the current government and provide a “safety net” for the opposition. The party's demands include a budgeted plan to combat crime in Arab communities and a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Ra’am, or the United Arab List, led by Mansour Abbas, broke a historical pattern in 2021 by joining a “change government”. Abbas has focused Ra'am's platform on local issues affecting Arab citizens and condemned the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Ra’am’s candidate list for the 2026 election includes a prominent Jewish politician, Yoav Segalovitz, as its second entry.

Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar party, have publicly stated they would not form a coalition with Arab-led parties. Ultra-Orthodox parties, such as Shas and United Torah Judaism, are considered integral to Netanyahu’s political strategy and have historically been part of his right-wing coalitions.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the specific number of seats each individual Arab party within the Joint List is projected to win. We also could not confirm the exact timeline for Sami Abu Shehadeh’s withdrawal following the Supreme Court hearing.