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March 8, 2019

Israel Bans Coalition of Arab Parties from April Election
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Israel's election committee has banned an alliance of Israeli Arab
parties from fielding candidates in April's general election. The move
will bar candidates from the Balad-United Arab List-which represents
Palestinian citizens of Israel-from running for Israel's parliament, the
Knesset. The ban was celebrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
who said in a statement, "Those who support terrorism will not be in the
Israeli Knesset!" Palestinian candidate Heba Yazbak said the measure had
nothing to do with terror, and was instead aimed at stifling Palestinian
rights.

Heba Yazbak: "They are actually banning the Arab, to choose, by
themselves, their representatives and their leaders. We, of course, will
go to the high court, and we will continue until the end, and we will
not accept this discrimination against us and against the Arab people in
Israel."

The ban on Israeli Arab candidates came as Israel's election committee
said it would allow members of the far-right Jewish Power party to run
in April's election. The party is tied to the Jewish Defense League, a
far-right group that was classified in 2000 by the FBI as a "right-wing
terrorist group." This all comes as Israel's attorney general says he's
prepared to indict Netanyahu on corruption charges.


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