Israeli top court bans far-right candidate

IANS  |  Jerusalem 

Israel's has disqualified the of the far-right Jewish Power party, Michael Ben-Ari, from next month's elections.

has faced criticism over his comments about Israeli Arabs. has said they amount to "incitement to racism".

The court also reinstated Israeli Arab parties previously banned from contesting the April 9 poll.

They had been barred from standing for their critical remarks about the state of and the Defense Forces.

Ahead of the elections, had forged an alliance with several far-right parties to try to shore up support.

His right-wing is seen as a strong contender despite an investigation into corruption allegations against him.

All governments in are coalitions because the country's system of proportional representation makes it unlikely for single parties to be able to govern alone.

The court backed an appeal from left-wing politicians who argued that had made racist remarks.

of Israel website reports that the appeal cited from August 2018, saying: "We have to change the equation regarding anyone who dares to speak against a Jew.

"(Such a person) is a dead man. He must not come out alive. No expelling him, no stripping him of his citizenship. He does not live! A firing squad takes him out as the Arabs understand (best)."

Ben-Ari has claimed that he was referring to leadership -- not all Arabs.

And responding to Sunday's court ruling, he said: "There is a judicial junta here which wants to take over our lives.

"They tell you there is a democracy here. It's not a democracy, there is a judicial junta here, unfortunately, which took power into its hands."

The court's decision marks the first time that a single candidate -- not an entire party -- has been banned from running in elections since were adopted in 2002.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, March 18 2019. 06:24 IST