Otzma Yehudit Files Petition to Disqualify Ra'am and Mansour Abbas
Otzma Yehudit and Minister Itamar Ben Gvir filed a petition to disqualify Ra'am and Mansour Abbas from the 26th Knesset elections, citing new terror ties.
The Otzma Yehudit party and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir have formally submitted a 39-page petition to the Central Elections Committee seeking to disqualify the Ra'am party and MK Mansour Abbas from running in the 26th Knesset elections. The petition, filed through attorneys Zeev Wolf and David Bavli, includes extensive new documentation that the applicants argue strengthens the grounds for disqualification.
The petition claims that Ra'am rejects Israel's existence as a Jewish state and supports the armed struggle of enemy states and terrorist organizations against it. A central focus of the new evidence is a Registrar of Associations report concerning the "Siyua 48" association, which the petition links directly to Ra'am, detailing financial transfers and cooperation with terrorist entities. Furthermore, the filing outlines direct connections between Ra'am, the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement, affiliated associations, and an ideological allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to the petition, existing Supreme Court jurisprudence created a situation where a Knesset member who expressed direct and explicit support for "resistance" during the October 7 massacre would not necessarily face disqualification due to a lack of a sufficient evidentiary "critical mass." The party argues that following the events of October 7, the judiciary's historically lenient approach toward terror-supporting parties is no longer acceptable.
New Evidence and Legal Arguments
To illustrate the perceived absurdity of past judicial rulings, the petition references former MK Azmi Bishara, who supported Hamas and Hezbollah, called for the destruction of Israel, and spied for the enemy, yet repeatedly received protection from the Supreme Court to serve as head of the Balad party despite clear evidence.
«This is not a free market of ideas, but those who want to blow up the market so that there will be neither opinions nor people to express them,» the petition states, arguing that the court is obligated to enforce the law and disqualify Ra'am.
Demands and Political Implications
The petition further asserts that Mansour Abbas is an operative of the Muslim Brotherhood who presents a moderate facade to the Israeli public. It also calls on Central Elections Committee Chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Soelberg, to declassify Shin Bet and police investigations concerning Ra'am, Mansour Abbas, and the associated charities.
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated: «The legislator spoke years ago, but the court ignored the law and whitewashed dozens of terrorists, allowing them to serve in the Israeli Knesset. The time has come to say enough is enough, enforce the law, and disqualify the terrorist organization known as Ra'am and its leader, Muslim Brotherhood member Mansour Abbas.»
Given the right-wing majority in the plenary of the Central Elections Committee, the petition is expected to be discussed and approved, after which the legal battle will proceed to the Supreme Court.
