Israel's Attorney General Urges Knesset Candidacy Ban for Arab Lawmaker

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has informed the Supreme Court that Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, should be disqualified from running for the Knesset. The Attorney General's office argues that an article Abu Shehadeh published on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas's attack, expresses support for Hamas's armed struggle against Israel. Baharav-Miara dismissed Abu Shehadeh's subsequent explanations as "disingenuous, partial, and not addressing the central claims."

In parallel, the Otzma Yehudit party intends to submit an additional video from December 2023, in which Abu Shehadeh praised the "almost legendary steadfastness of the resistance in Gaza." The Attorney General's statement to the court emphasized that Abu Shehadeh's actions fall under the grounds for disqualification stipulated in Israel's Basic Law: The Knesset, citing his support for armed struggle, particularly during the October 7th attack.

The Central Elections Committee had previously disqualified Abu Shehadeh, with the committee's chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, unusually participating in the vote to support the disqualification. Sohlberg stated that Abu Shehadeh's explanations were insufficient. Abu Shehadeh had attempted to distance himself from his article, stating it should not have been written and that he condemns the October 7th attack, asserting his path is one of non-violent democratic struggle.

Otzma Yehudit's request to submit the December video is expected to face legal challenges, as new evidence is typically not accepted at this stage of Supreme Court proceedings after the Central Elections Committee has concluded its review.