Representatives of the Yesh Atid Party have joined Labor Party MK Stav Shaffir and the Meretz Party in petitioning the Central Elections Committee to disqualify far-right Otzma Yehudit candidates Itamar Ben-Gvir and Michael Ben-Ari from running in the upcoming elections.
The Yesh Atid members joined the effort as part of their commitment to act to prevent the “Kahanists” from entering the Knesset.
A response from Otzma Yehudit was quick to follow, with the party holding Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz responsible for the move.
“The cat is out of the bag,” the party said in a statement.
“Benny Gantz’s joining the disqualification request proves that he is not just hypocritical but a leftist. It turns out that Gantz seeks to establish a government with votes from the representatives of terrorists in the Knesset, winking at them as he joins the disqualification request.”
Meanwhile, efforts in the Likud Party are underway to petition to the Central Elections Committee demanding to disqualify Balad from running for the Knesset.
In response, Balad said: “We are here to stay. The new Kahanist priest will not preach morality to us.”
In 2016, the Knesset Ethics Committee temporarily suspended Balad MKs Hanin Zoabi, Basel Ghattas and Jamal Zahalka from parliament after determining a meeting they held with terrorists’ families constituted unbecoming conduct.
Balad was formed in 1995 by Azmi Bishara, who fled Israel in 2007 amid allegations he had spied for the Hezbollah terrorist group.
