Israel's Attorney General Backs Disqualification of Arab Israeli Lawmaker

The Israeli Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, officially announced on Tuesday her support for disqualifying Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, from running for Knesset. The decision stems from his "support for armed struggle against Israel, including during the October 7th attack, under extreme circumstances and at the most severe timing."

In a statement released by her office, Baharav-Miara cited an article Abu Shehadeh published on October 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas terror attack began and while it was ongoing. She stated the article "expresses a position of support for the armed struggle of the terrorist organization Hamas against the State of Israel." The Attorney General further asserted that Abu Shehadeh's actions fall under the core disqualification clause in Israel's Basic Law: Knesset. She dismissed his subsequent explanations for his statements as "evasive, partial, and do not address the main allegations raised against him."

Abu Shehadeh's candidacy was previously disqualified by the Central Elections Committee last week due to his controversial remarks following the October 7th attacks. The committee also disqualified the Joint List and Ra'am parties, though it is widely expected that the High Court of Justice will overturn these latter two disqualifications.

The discussion regarding Abu Shehadeh's disqualification is scheduled for Thursday. In addition to existing evidence, the Otzma Yehudit party intends to present further proof, including a recent interview where Abu Shehadeh spoke about "Gaza's steadfastness" in the fighting.