Photo by
Yosef Mizrahi/TPS on 23 September, 2026
Supreme Court Gives Abu Shehadeh Final Chance to Withdraw Before Disqualification
By
Pesach Benson
• 1 October, 2026
Jerusalem, 1 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Israel’s Supreme Court said it was prepared to unanimously disqualify Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from the upcoming Knesset elections, while giving him a final opportunity to withdraw his candidacy before issuing a ruling.
The indication came during a hearing before an expanded nine-justice panel examining petitions against Abu Shehadeh’s candidacy. Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit said the judges had reached a broad consensus regarding an Arabic-language article Abu Shehadeh published on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after Hamas attacked Israel.
MK Sami Abu Shehadeh (L) of Balad, a faction of the Joint List, addresses the Knesset in Jerusalem on June 6, 2022. Photo by Yosef Mizrahi/TPS
“There is unanimity among the judges that there are things written by the candidate that are outrageous and disgusting,” Amit said. After hearing the arguments, he added, “the apparent result is to approve the decision to disqualify with all that this entails.”
Amit urged Abu Shehadeh to consider withdrawing his candidacy rather than forcing the court to issue a formal ruling disqualifying him. The judges indicated that he could withdraw by Friday.
The article, published as the extent of the Hamas attack was still emerging, described the events as a “historic event” of military, political and strategic significance. State legal officials argued that the wording amounted to support for Hamas’ armed struggle against Israel.
Abu Shehadeh rejected that interpretation during the hearing, citing his record of opposing armed struggle and attacks on civilians. He acknowledged, however, that parts of the article were inappropriate.
“We were under pressure from the news, I would have taken the article down,” Abu Shehadeh said when questioned about the publication. He also indicated that he regretted writing it.
When judges asked him to identify previous writing in which he had explicitly described Hamas actions as terrorism, Abu Shehadeh responded that he “does not write in that style.”
The Central Elections Committee previously voted to disqualify Abu Shehadeh, triggering the appeal. The committee’s chairman, Supreme Court Vice President Noam Solberg, supported the decision, as did Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The court is separately considering petitions seeking to disqualify Joint List MK Ofer Kasif and several Arab political lists. State legal officials oppose those petitions.
The proceedings were accompanied by confrontations outside the courtroom. Demonstrators supporting Arab political parties protested the disqualifications as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived to represent Otzma Yehudit, which filed the original petition against Abu Shehadeh.
Ben-Gvir told reporters that “Kasif, Ra’am and all that gang, each and every one of them should be disqualified from running for the Knesset,” while describing Abu Shehadeh’s case as “the most obvious, the clearest case.”
Further verbal clashes erupted between Ben-Gvir and Arab lawmakers, including MK Ahmad Tibi and Kasif.
Meanwhile, Balad leaders began discussing whether Abu Shehadeh should withdraw his candidacy. No final decision had been announced by the end of the hearing.
Israeli elections are scheduled for Oct. 27.
