Balad Party Chair Expresses Regret Over October 7th Remarks

Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, has expressed regret for an article he published on October 8, 2023, in which he described the Hamas attack of October 7th as a "significant historical event" and suggested that others could learn from Gaza's success. The statement comes as his political allies in the Hadash-Ta'al list are pressuring him to retract the remarks, which they claim they were unaware of until recently. Legal advisors for the list are concerned that the article could provide grounds for disqualifying Abu Shehadeh from running for the Knesset.

In the article, published in Arabic, Abu Shehadeh noted the "military, political, and strategic" significance of the attack and wrote that if "small, besieged Gaza" could achieve such a feat, others could do so more easily. This was written even as reports of hundreds of Israelis murdered and kidnapped were emerging on October 8th.

Abu Shehadeh stated that he would not have published the article had he been aware of the full extent of the atrocities at the time. He emphasized that his stance against violence is well-known and has been expressed repeatedly since October 7th in various languages. His associates explained that the article had not been prominent in his memory until it was included in a petition to disqualify him, and that he would have corrected or retracted it sooner had he recalled it.

He reiterated his unequivocal opposition to harming any human beings, whether Palestinian or Israeli, and condemned the October 7th massacre as well as subsequent actions against Gaza residents. He also asserted that he has never called for violence, supported, or justified the events of October 7th.

The article is central to a disqualification request filed by Otzma Yehudit and Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who argue that Abu Shehadeh's statements, among others, negate Israel's identity as a Jewish and democratic state and support armed struggle against it. Abu Shehadeh is appealing to the Central Elections Committee not to disqualify him, maintaining that the full scope of the horror was not yet clear when the article was published.