Balad Party Leader Admits Past Article Was Mistake, Defends Refusal to Label Hamas Terrorist Group

Sami Abu Shehadeh, the chairman of the Balad party, admitted on Thursday that an article he published on October 8, one day after the Hamas attack on the Gaza envelope, was a mistake. In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Abu Shehadeh stated, "My article after 10.7 was unsuccessful, I did not understand the full picture."

Despite defining Hamas's actions on October 7 as "crimes, a massacre, and atrocities" committed by an organization whose policies he opposes, Abu Shehadeh refused to explicitly label Hamas as a terrorist organization. When pressed by the interviewer to repeat the phrase "terrorist organization," the Balad chairman responded, "You do that with your first-grade child. 'Repeat after me' is when you talk to your child in kindergarten and teach them something. You don't address a political leader that way." He emphasized that he has never called for violence and wishes to respond in his own words.

Abu Shehadeh also addressed the Central Elections Committee's decision on Wednesday to disqualify him from running for the Knesset. He clarified that he has no intention of withdrawing from the race following the decision, which he called "incorrect," and strongly criticized the process itself. "This circus of the Central Elections Committee must stop," he said. "This composition, where political parties can disqualify a competing political party with a different worldview, is something that must stop."