Supreme Court President Suggests Balad MK Abu Shehadeh Withdraw from Election

President of the Supreme Court Yitzhak Amit announced on Thursday during a High Court of Justice hearing that Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, is to be disqualified from running in the 26th Knesset elections. A majority of the judges recommended that the Knesset member consider withdrawing his candidacy, suggesting he resign by Friday. If he does not, they will be compelled to disqualify him. Amit stated that the judges were in agreement that some of Abu Shehadeh's writings were "outrageous and disgusting." He added that while there were differing opinions, the apparent outcome was to uphold the disqualification.

Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi defended Abu Shehadeh, calling the judges' decision "a dark day" and asserting that the goal of those seeking disqualification is to harm the high voter turnout in the Arab community. In response to the ruling, the Balad party is scheduled to discuss Abu Shehadeh's potential withdrawal from the election on Thursday. Sources within the Joint List believe that the ruling on Abu Shehadeh could negatively impact Balad's standing.

The disqualification proceedings were initiated following an article Abu Shehadeh published on October 8th, in which he referred to the October 7th attacks as a "significant historical event." This article, along with other statements, led to disqualification requests against him and various Arab lists being filed with the Central Elections Committee, eventually reaching the Supreme Court.

In late September, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara informed the Supreme Court that Abu Shehadeh should be disqualified from running in the Knesset elections. Baharav-Miara and the State Attorney determined that Abu Shehadeh's article and other statements expressed support for the armed struggle of a terror organization against Israel, thus falling under the disqualification clause in the Basic Law: The Knesset.