Israeli election committee bars candidate from Knesset race over Gaza war opposition

Israel’s Central Elections Committee on Wednesday decided to disqualify Knesset member Ofer Cassif from running on the Joint List in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Anadolu reports.

Cassif is known for his opposition to the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government toward the Palestinian people, particularly Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip since 2023.

Israeli Channel 13 reported that the committee is holding sessions Wednesday and Thursday to discuss requests to bar several political parties from the Knesset elections and has decided to disqualify Cassif from running.

It said the decision was made following a request submitted by Netanyahu’s Likud party against Cassif, with the case to be referred to the Supreme Court, the country’s highest judicial body, for a ruling.

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The channel quoted Cassif as saying: “The committee seeks not only to exclude Arab voices, but also to silence and exclude from the Knesset any voice that attempts to offer a real alternative to the rhetoric of wars and revenge.”

“Presenting my opposition to the government’s policies and the actions of its agents as support for the enemy, breach of loyalty and harm to the state is a blatant distortion of reality and a complete perversion of the spirit of democracy,” he said, noting that “opposition to crimes committed in the name of the state does not contradict its interests and does not strengthen its enemies.”

Israeli elections will be held amid a fragmented political landscape.

Netanyahu has led the current government since December 2022.

He faces corruption charges, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him over charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

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