Israel’s Central Elections Committee voted on September 23 to bar the country’s main Arab parties from contesting next month’s elections to the Knesset, The Hindu reported.

The ban targets Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, and the Joint List, an alliance of the Arab-led Hadash, Ta’al and Balad parties, according to Al Jazeera. A Channel 12 poll published on Tuesday projected seven seats for the Joint List and five for Ra’am, against 50 for Netanyahu’s current coalition bloc.