Israel’s attorney-general and state attorney told the country’s Supreme Court on Tuesday that Balad party chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh’s disqualification from running in the Oct. 27 election should be upheld, Hebrew media reported.
In a submission filed ahead of a Thursday hearing, state prosecutors argued that an article published by Abu Shehadeh on Oct. 8, 2023—a day after Hamas launched its cross-border assault—constituted support for armed struggle against Israel under Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset. The recommendation marked an escalation from their posture before the Central Elections Committee last week, when they stopped short of an outright recommendation to bar him.
In the Arabic-language piece, Abu Shehadeh described the terror attack as “an important historic event militarily, politically and strategically” and asserted that others could learn from Hamas’s ability to surprise Israel.
The state dismissed Abu Shehadeh’s subsequent explanations as partial and failing to address core allegations. Abu Shehadeh has denied supporting the Oct. 7 massacre or political violence, maintaining that he opposes armed struggle and calling the move an attempt to silence the Arab community’s political voice.
The state’s stance backs a Sept. 23 decision by the Central Elections Committee, which voted 30-4 to approve the disqualification petition filed by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party. The petition argued that Abu Shehadeh supported armed struggle against Israel and denied its character as a Jewish and democratic state.
The committee vote was notable because its chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, broke with the customary judicial practice of abstaining.
“I will depart from the custom of chairmen to maintain neutrality,” Sohlberg said at the time. “I have not found a solution that can put people at ease, and therefore, even though it is rare, I am voting in favor of disqualifying Sami Abu Shehadeh. If there is a case where the application is clear, this is it.”
Earlier that same day, the committee also voted 19-5, with two abstentions, to disqualify Hadash-Ta’al lawmaker Ofer Cassif following a Likud petition. Balad and Hadash are running together on the Joint List slate.
Under Israeli law, all Central Elections Committee disqualifications of individual candidates must be reviewed and ratified by the High Court of Justice before they can take effect.
