Lieberman Backs Disqualifying Abbas Day After Eisenkot Meet

Just one day after sitting down with Gadi Eisenkot to coordinate opposition moves, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman reversed course Wednesday morning and dealt a blow to any hopes of a unified "change bloc" strategy.

Lieberman's party announced it will support disqualifying Ra'am, the party led by Mansour Abbas, which this time is running on a joint slate with Knesset member Yoav Segalovitz, when the matter comes before the Central Elections Committee.

The official statement from Yisrael Beiteinu laid down a hard line: "Any Zionist government formed after the elections must define the elimination of Hamas as a central goal of its security policy. Any party that opposes this has no place in the Knesset of Israel. Therefore we will vote in favor of disqualifying the Joint List, Ra'am, Ofer Cassif, and Sami Abu Shehadeh."

Political insiders view Lieberman's move as slamming the door completely on any future possibility of relying, even from the outside, on Arab party votes to assemble a coalition.

Lieberman's decision to include Ra'am on the disqualification list, especially after MK Yoav Segalovitz joined the slate, creates embarrassment for center-left parties that had hoped to preserve political flexibility that would allow forming a government the day after the election.

The meeting between Lieberman and Bennett took place Tuesday evening, with the two discussing the steps needed to achieve victory in the election and reviewing various issues on the agenda, according to statements from both leaders.

The move comes against the backdrop of a meeting opposition leader Yair Lapid has organized for this coming Saturday night at his Tel Aviv home, bringing together change-bloc leaders. Naftali Bennett, Gadi Eisenkot, Avigdor Lieberman, and Yair Golan are expected to attend, with the gathering focused on coordinating the bloc's moves ahead of the anticipated elections.

Regarding Sami Abu Shehadeh, who joined the Ra'am slate, the Attorney General and State Attorney submitted a different position to the Central Elections Committee than they presented regarding other parties. According to their submission, the evidentiary basis presented suggests he expressed support for armed struggle by a terror organization against the State of Israel.

At the center of the matter is an article Abu Shehadeh published on October 8, 2023. According to the position submitted to the Elections Committee, the article is the primary evidence on which the response to the disqualification request against him is based.