Palestinian vote could be 'game-changer' in Israel's upcoming elections: Lawmaker

Ofer Cassif, an Israeli lawmaker from the Hadash party whose candidacy was rejected by the Central Elections Committee, said the Palestinian vote could prove to be a "game-changer" in the Oct. 27 parliamentary elections.

"Everybody understands that the game changer is the Palestinian vote, the Palestinian citizens in Israel. I mean, not in the occupied territories.

"Twenty percent of the citizens in Israel are Palestinian Arabs," Cassif told Anadolu.

The Jewish lawmaker who has strongly criticized Israel’s policies toward Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and previously faced several decisions calling for his removal from the Knesset, faces an attempt to bar him from standing in the election.

The Central Elections Committee voted to disqualify Cassif’s candidacy following a motion submitted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

The motion passed in an 18 - 5 vote, in addition to decisions to disqualify parties representing Palestinians.

The Supreme Court will make the final decision on whether Cassif can participate in the elections.

'Everybody should understand that Netanyahu should go away'

Cassif said Netanyahu wants to remain in power and "he's been doing whatever possible for him to stay in power," calling him a "criminal psychopath who cares only about himself. "

Pointing to corruption cases against Netanyahu and an arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court, Cassif stressed that the premier is afraid of being arrested.

"Everybody should understand that Netanyahu should go away. His government should go away.

"If they don't, if they win again, that may lead to a terrible bloodshed that we've never experienced, not even on the 7th of October and afterwards," he said.

Disqualifications to be overturned by court

Noting that Arabs who are citizens of Israel make up 20% of the population, Cassif said two lists and two candidates representing Palestinians had been disqualified.

"They know that we are the game changer, and they want to block us, because they know that if we are out of the game, they will hold to power forever.

"There's no chance to foil Netanyahu's gang without us," the lawmaker added.

He believes that all the disqualification decisions will be overturned by the top court.

"It's quite clear that all of those disqualifications, perhaps apart from one, are going to be overturned by the court," said Cassif.

The lawmaker said the decision to bar political representatives from the elections comes as Tel Aviv's genocidal war continues in Gaza.

"So, you can see that all this self-flattering title of we are the only democracy in the Middle East, if it wasn't so tragic, it was really a joke," he said.

There have always been democratic procedures and democratic elements in Israel, said Cassif, adding, however, it "never had a democratic structure and character.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army's genocidal war in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people and wounded over 174,000, while destroying 90% of the enclave's infrastructure.

The army continues its attacks despite a ceasefire that has been in effect since last October.