Arab Israeli Party Head Withdraws Candidacy After Court Decision

The National Democratic Assembly (Tanzah) announced late Thursday that its head, Sami Abu Shehadeh, would withdraw his candidacy for the upcoming elections. The decision came after the Supreme Court indicated a majority of justices were leaning towards upholding a prior decision to disqualify him from running. The party stated the withdrawal was a political responsibility towards the Arab public and the Joint List, citing the severe implications for Arab political and parliamentary work.

Abu Shehadeh had pursued the legal and political battle to the end, refusing to withdraw after the initial disqualification by the elections committee and presenting his case before nine Supreme Court justices. The party emphasized that the withdrawal was only decided after the court signaled its intent to uphold the disqualification, which they argued exposed the court's bias and the significant damage such a precedent would inflict on political parties and national parliamentary efforts.

In a statement, Abu Shehadeh said the issue transcended his personal candidacy, raising serious questions about the limits of political legitimacy for Arab citizens and the use of disqualification to narrow the space for Arab political action and target national stances deviating from the Israeli consensus.

The National Democratic Assembly stressed that this decision was not a retreat from the party's positions or a submission to the right-wing's incitement campaign, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir. It also clarified that Abu Shehadeh would not be withdrawing from political life or his leadership of the party. The party vowed to respond to the disqualification not with withdrawal or frustration, but with increased organization, political participation, strengthening the party and the Joint List, and encouraging broad voter turnout.

The party also stated it would continue to confront attempts to delegitimise Arab political action on various fronts, and would present the case to democratic forces, human rights institutions, and international forums as part of a broader trend of narrowing political and civil rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel. The party extended thanks to its members, activists, partners in the Joint List, the legal team, human rights institutions, and all who supported Abu Shehadeh.