Balad Party Believes High Court Will Overturn Candidate Disqualification

A senior official from the Balad party, Mudar Owda, stated that the party is preparing for a legal battle against the disqualification request filed against its chairman, Sami Abu Shehadeh. Abu Shehadeh's candidacy for the Knesset is being challenged over an article he published on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas's attack on Israel. Owda, who is second on Balad's Knesset list, told Radio "A-Nass" that the article, which has been interpreted as support for the October 7th attack, was analytical in nature and not a personal opinion or stance.

Balad intends to petition Israel's High Court of Justice (Bagatz) if Abu Shehadeh's candidacy is disqualified. The party draws confidence from previous High Court rulings that have prioritized the right to run in elections, unless there is a clear accumulation of statements or actions meeting legal disqualification criteria. Owda expressed hope that the court would consider the full context and all available information, rather than basing its decision solely on the interpretation of one article.

In the article published in "Al-Araby Al-Jadeed," Abu Shehadeh wrote, "If little, besieged Gaza was able to do this and at such a level, others can do it more effectively and simply." He also stated, "To all the 'concerned' about the workers of Gaza: let your support for them and your expression of love and concern for them be expressed in support of building Gaza and its reconstruction, instead of the reconstruction of Israel." He further advised the "resistance" to involve the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the political track opened by the military campaign and to engage key Arab states to achieve desired gains.