Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 'judicial coup' could see Palestinian parties banned from competing in elections for the Knesset, a senior MK has warned.
Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List, fears that new high court judges might not challenge the government if it ordered Palestinian parties to be struck off the electoral list.
"No one guarantees us that a 'new High Court of Justice' won't allow [the government] to disqualify Arab parties, but our participation in the elections as citizens shouldn't depend on whether there's a declaration about joining the coalition," Abbas said at a conference for Palestinian citizens of Israel, according to Haaretz.
The legal changes pushed through by Netanyahu have been slammed as a 'coup' by critics, with the overhaul allowing the PM to appoint key Supreme Court judges, thus demolishing a key oversight of Israeli government practices.
The high court has provided a few protections for Palestinian citizens of Israel from racist legislation rolled out by Netanyahu's government, described as the most right-wing in Israel's history.
This week, the Israeli cabinet agreed to "slow down" the rollout of a law on a permanent ban on Palestinian family reunifications due to the likelihood that the High Court of Justice would strike it down.
Critics of the overhaul believe that the judicial changes, believed to be coming into effect in the next parliamentary term after a brief pause, would allow the Israeli government to use unfettered powers to further discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel.
It might also allow the government to annex the illegally occupied West Bank without granting its 3 million Palestinian population Israeli citizenship, thus maintaining Jewish supremacy in the country despite the massive demographic changes such a move would have.
Abbas courted controversy after his United Arab List joined a government coalition led by right-wing Israeli politician Naftali Bennett in 2021, breaking a taboo among Palestinian parties about direct involvement in the Israeli state.
"Mark my words: If I am personally disqualified, I'll join one of the existing parties and become its activist. We must not give them the prize of robbing Arab citizens of their political power," Abbas added.
Sami Abou Shehadeh, chairman of the left-wing Palestinian Balad party, said that the political power of Palestinian citizens of Israel is at its lowest ebb in decades.
"The war proved that Palestinian political activism in Israel is very weak," he said.
"They talk about the hostages. Dozens of citizens are detained without trial. Administrative detention [detention without trial] is kidnapping. The state takes its citizens hostage, and no one opposes it other than the Arab parties. You're liberals? Then talk about this violation of personal freedom."