Attorney general urges Supreme Court to uphold Balad head’s disqualification

The offices of the state attorney and attorney general say the Supreme Court should approve the disqualification of Balad party leader Sami Abu Shehadeh from running for Knesset, citing the “extreme circumstances and timing that could not be more severe” of a column he wrote appearing to back armed struggle against Israel.

“His column, published on October 8, 2023, a day after the opening of the murderous terror attack, and while it was still going on, expresses support for the Hamas terror group’s armed struggle against the State of Israel,” the Attorney General’s Office and State Attorney’s Office say in a statement accompanying a legal opinion filed to the court.

“Abu Shehadeh’s conduct lies at the heart of grounds for disqualifications laid out in Basic Law: The Knesset,” it adds, noting that his defense did not hold water.

At a hearing last week, the central Elections Committee voted overwhelmingly to bar Abu Shehadeh from running. As head of the hardline Balad party, the former MK had been slotted near the top of the Joint List of Arab parties electoral slate.

Other Arab parties and Joint List politicians were also disqualified at the hearing, though those decisions are expected to be overturned by the court.