Israel's Supreme Court Concludes Hearings on Disqualification Petitions

Israel's Supreme Court concluded nearly 10 hours of deliberations on Thursday evening regarding petitions against the disqualification of several Arab political entities and figures from the upcoming Knesset elections. A full panel of nine justices, led by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, heard arguments concerning the United Arab List, the Joint List, Knesset Member Ofir Cassif, and Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the National Democratic Assembly. The court is expected to announce its decisions by Sunday.

Prior to the court session, protesters demonstrated in Jerusalem against the Central Elections Committee's decision to disqualify the Joint List, the United Arab List, Cassif, and Abu Shehadeh. Clashes occurred between protesters and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had submitted petitions to disqualify Abu Shehadeh. During the proceedings, one justice commented to Ben-Gvir, "Not everything published in Arabic is a conspiracy."

Knesset Member Ofir Cassif stated before the hearing, "We will fight against fascism, we will achieve justice, peace, and a bright future for all our children, Palestinians and Israelis, Jews and Arabs. This is our vision and our conception. We will not give it up. We will defeat fascism, and it will be thrown into the dustbin of history. We promise you that."

Sami Abu Shehadeh, defending his candidacy, told the judges, "I am against violence and killing. I am against everything that happened on October 7th." He also expressed regret for an article he wrote on that date. The Director of Adalah Center, director of the Adalah Center, presented a defense for Abu Shehadeh.

Supreme Court President Amit advised Abu Shehadeh to reconsider his candidacy, noting a perceived majority in favor of his disqualification. Abu Shehadeh was given until the end of the deliberations to make a decision. The court also heard arguments regarding the disqualification of the United Arab List, headed by Mansour Abbas, including testimony from Knesset Member Tally Gottlieb and lawyer Yahya Dahamsha.