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Central Elections Committee

Sami Abou Shehadeh attends a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify him from running in the upcoming Knesset elections, October 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Facing ban from High Court, Balad’s Abou Shehadeh ends election candidacy
By ToI Staff
Balad says Abou Shehadeh to remain leader of party, Joint List will continue to work to oust Netanyahu; Ben Gvir celebrates removal, laments court gave him window to quit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Tel Nof air base in a picture distributed on September 29, 2026. (Ma’ayan Toaf/GPO)
October 6, 2026, 11:10 pm
Netanyahu ordered to remove video filmed at IDF airbase from his personal social media
Central Elections Committee chief Noam Sohlberg says video, in which PM warned enemies may attack Israel before Oct. 27 vote, contained ‘elements of election propaganda’
By ToI Staff
Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, surrounded by supporters, during an election campaign tour in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, September 29, 2026. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)
October 4, 2026, 9:03 pm
Election panel orders Netanyahu to remove videos that violate propaganda laws
Committee chair says five clips published to social media feature problematic content, including video of a visit to a military base in Lebanon
By Jeremy Sharon
From left: Balad chairman Sami Abou Shehadeh, MK Ahmad Tibi and MK Ofer Cassif arrive at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem for a hearing on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify candidates and parties from running in the upcoming Knesset elections, October 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 2, 2026, 5:47 pm
Supreme Court unanimously overturns election panel’s ban on Arab parties
After rejecting Balad chief, judges say Ra’am, Joint List, its MK Ofer Cassif don’t meet criteria on racist incitement, support for armed conflict against Israel to warrant ban
By Jeremy Sharon and Noam Lehmann
A hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify Arab parties and candidates from running in the upcoming elections, October 1, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 1, 2026, 5:47 pm
High Court urges Balad chairman to drop out of elections or face disqualification
Justices tell Sami Abu Shehadeh that majority support upholding his ban by Central Elections Committee; Ben Gvir, who sought disqualification, ally MK Gotliv, personally argue case in court
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Yousef Jabareen submit the Joint List slate to the Central Elections Committee at the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 8, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 28, 2026, 6:00 am
The ban on Arab parties will likely be reversed. To its critics, that isn’t exactly a relief
Often, the most extreme measures — like banning Arab-led parties from the election — get tossed, but their impact can live on
By Ben Sales
Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, at a campaign rally in Haifa, September 23, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)
September 26, 2026, 11:53 pm
Eisenkot says Ra’am won’t be in his government, calls Netanyahu ‘a pathological liar’
Main election challenger says PM has instilled a ‘culture of dishonesty’ in public discourse, describes PM’s approval of Qatari funds that went to Hamas as somewhere ‘between breach of trust and treason’
By Michael Bachner
Left to right: The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan in Tel Aviv, July 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90); National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the Otzma Yehudit party chairman, in Jerusalem, September 7, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Religious Zionism party chairman in the West Bank, September 2, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 24, 2026, 5:03 pm
Election panel rejects bids to bar Democrats, Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties
All the Jewish-majority slates that faced challenges before committee are cleared to run, after all Arab parties were disqualified on Wednesday; Supreme Court to consider petitions next week
By Ariela Karmel
Balad chair Sami Abou Shehadeh appears on a screen behind the Central Elections Committee during a disqualification hearing at the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 23, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 23, 2026, 4:29 pm
Election panel disqualifies all Arab parties, in move likely to be overturned; Balad leader also barred
High Court expected to nix bans on Ra’am, Joint List after politicians cite alleged support for terror, denial of Israel as Jewish state; Sohlberg, AG, all opposition parties back disqualification of Balad’s Abou Shahadeh in rare consensus
By Ariela Karmel
Joint List members Ta'al leader MK Ahmad Tibi (Left), Hadash leader Yousef Jabareen (center), and Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh (right) submit their party’s candidate list to the Central Elections Committee ahead of the upcoming election, at the Knesset, Jerusalem, September 8, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 22, 2026, 7:44 pm
AG: Disqualification of Balad leader from election ‘should be seriously considered’
Baharav-Miara says post-October 7 article by Sami Abu Shehadah may constitute support for armed struggle; Yashar, Blue and White back Otzma Yehudit bid to disqualify him
By Jeremy Sharon and Ariela Karmel
A man casts his vote with his dog at a voting station in Tel Aviv, during the Knesset Elections, on November 1, 2022. (Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)
September 17, 2026, 10:10 pm
High Court bans parties from tracking voters on election day, angering Likud
Court overturns election committee ruling, says voter tracking violates legally enshrined right to privacy; Justice Minister Levin accuses justices of seeking to sway election against government
By Jeremy Sharon
Itamar Ben Gvir (left) and Yair Golan. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
September 15, 2026, 12:44 am
Democrats seek to bar Otzma Yehudit from election as polls show continued deadlock
Left-wing party accuses Ben Gvir’s slate of racism and of eroding state institutions; far-right party responds in kind, with both efforts unlikely to succeed; Yashar No. 2 floats coalition with Smotrich, post-Netanyahu Likud
By Ariela Karmel and ToI Staff
Ra'am party leader Mansour Abbas (left) and Ta'al chief Ahmad Tibi walk outside the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, June 3, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 14, 2026, 12:54 am
Netanyahu’s Likud says it will petition election panel to ban Arab-majority parties
Ruling party says Ra’am and Joint List ‘harm IDF soldiers’ and won’t call Hamas, Hezbollah terror groups; request unlikely to pass High Court, which has nixed previous efforts
By ToI Staff
Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats party and a former IDF deputy chief of staff, speaks during an election campaign rally in Netanya, Israel, August 27, 2026. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)
September 7, 2026, 2:16 pm
Golan: If Israel maintains liberal values, ‘woke’ critics will have less ‘ammunition’
Ben Gvir takes down video of himself taunting Palestinian prisoners after complaint to election panel; Shas reportedly considering including IDF officer on electoral slate
By Noam Lehmann and ToI Staff
A ballot is cast at a voting station in Jerusalem, during the Knesset election, on March 2, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90/File)
September 6, 2026, 8:46 pm
Central Elections Committee allows parties to use real-time voting data on election day
In boon to Likud, committee decides party-appointed poll workers may share info with campaign on who has voted already, though they can’t share when, and must destroy data after election
By Jeremy Sharon
Supreme Court Justice Yael Willner presides over a hearing on a petition filed by the Likud party against the Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Sohlberg's decision to prohibit the real-time transfer of information on voters who have cast their ballots during Israel’s general election, September 2, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 2, 2026, 11:53 pm
In boon for Likud, High Court says election czar lacked authority to ban voter tracking
Central Election Committee plenum, on which coalition has a majority, will decide if polling station workers can tell parties who has voted; but that decision can in turn be petitioned to top court
By Jeremy Sharon
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