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Says a lot about the structural constrains of Palestinian politics within Israeli institutions.

Why let the court avoid directly upholding his disqualification? I don't know. Your thoughts? My best guess: letting the courts disqualify him will further alienate the Palestinian electorate, resulting in low turnout rates, ultimately hurting his allies.

The court upheld the disqualification of Sami Abu Shehadeh, a well-known politician, over a column he published a day after October 7. Or rather: the court *suggested Abu Shehadeh should resign*, warning it would disqualify him otherwise. Abu Shehadeh complied. Why?

Rida Abu Rass @aburass.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Since 2003, Israel’s Central Elections Committee has banned Palestinian candidates ahead of general elections, citing “support for terrorism” or opposition to the state’s Jewish character. In the past, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned those disqualifications. Not this time.

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As a non-expert who enjoyed the book, I wonder what else you'd say is a stretch / overstated, other than the impact of EMPs? Which are the weakest links in the chain of events she describes?

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Rida Abu Rass @aburass.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

"...rebuilding the Joint List may be more difficult now than at any point since its creation in 2015. The parties are divided ... by two increasingly incompatible ideas about how Palestinian political power should be used inside the Israeli political system". www.972mag.com/israel-elect...

972mag.com

Palestinians could decide Israel’s election. But their parties are at a stalemate

Core disputes over how to utilize political power may not be resolved in time to form a new Joint List — and competing parties are ready to capitalize.

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Rida Abu Rass @aburass.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Had a great conversation with Kwangu Liwewe Agyei about the role of Palestinian citizens in Israel’s upcoming general elections. And don't skip @dahliasc.bsky.social's excellent analysis of the Israeli political map. newlinesmag.com/podcast/why-...

newlinesmag.com

Why Israel Keeps Voting and Nothing Changes

Dahlia Scheindlin and Rida Abu Rass join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei on Global Insights to discuss October's election, why Netanyahu keeps surviving and the taboo that keeps Arab parties out of power

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Reposted by Rida Abu Rass

The New Arab @thenewarab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Protests erupted overnight across Tripoli and neighbouring cities, prompting authorities to tighten security. The oil-rich country has suffered recurring electricity crises for years, with summer blackouts frequently triggering public anger.

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Sources / further reading (some in Arabic, Hebrew): - shorturl.at/graa6 - shorturl.at/xDi6u - shorturl.at/pvQJM - shorturl.at/W7G81

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It will be a marginal, for sure, but it might pass the election threshold. Regardless, mobilizing new voters, and attracting ones who would have otherwise cast their ballot to the Joint List or the Zionist center-Left, will have downstream implications for the entire Israeli political system.

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2. The leaders of Standing Together / Omdim Beyachad, an Arab-Jewish grassroots movement, have established a political party. With the Israeli center-left continuing to drift to the right, this will be the only anti-occupation, non-Palestinian-majority party.

The public demands a coordinated struggle, based on low common denominators. But the strategic and ideological gaps - especially between Abbas and the rest - have grown too wide to bridge. Most know this, but some pollsters insist unity will be rewarded with higher turnout rates. We'll see.

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Since 2015, the Palestinian public has rewarded unity through the ballot box. But since Mansour Abbas' 2021 defection, this demand has rung dissonant. Most know that substantive unity is not on offer; that Abbas will abandon the List as soon as elections are concluded.

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1. It's still unclear whether the four predominately-Palestinian parties will unify, despite public commitments. It's starting to look more likely that Mansour Abbas' Islamist, United Arab List will run alone. Palestinians are likely to punish this move with lower turnout rates.

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