From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 1, 2026
Ben Gvir, Gotliv trade insults with Joint List politicians at Supreme Court
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Otzma Yehudit’s No. 2 candidate, Tally Gotliv, trade insults with Joint List politicians outside a Supreme Court courtroom amid throngs of protesters.
Justices are holding hearings throughout the day on last week’s Central Elections Committee’s disqualifications of Balad chairman Sami Abou Shahadeh, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, the Joint List and Ra’am from the October 27 election. Ben Gvir and Gotliv, both lawyers, are representing the far-right Otzma Yehudit party in its bid to bar Abou Shahadeh.
Outside the courtroom, Ben Gvir tells Ta’al head Ahmad Tibi, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif and Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen: “You are terrorism’s front line in the Knesset. We’ll throw you out of the Knesset.”
“Every dog has his day,” Tibi responds in Arabic, while Jabareen and Cassif call Ben Gvir a “Nazi.”
In a separate instance, Gotliv approaches Tibi, shouting at him and demanding to know whether he recognizes a Jewish state. “I recognize your need for a psychiatrist,” he replies.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir trades insults with Ta’al chair Ahmad Tibi at a Supreme Court hearing about the banning of Arab parties from the upcoming election, on October 1, 2026. (Itamar Ben Gvir)
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