From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Balad chief Abu Shehadeh denounces those seeking to bar him from election
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh denounces National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and opposition leaders backing an effort to disqualify him from the October 27 election over allegations that he expressed support for terrorism following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
“No one convicted of incitement to terrorism, nor any other racist, will deter me from the path I am pursuing toward a better reality,” Abu Shehadeh says, referring to Ben Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit party filed the petition, and who was convicted in 2007 of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization.
“Unfortunately, some of the leaders of the ‘opposition’ have decided to cooperate with the illegitimate attempt to silence the Arab voice at the ballot box,” Abu Shehadeh continues, after Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White announced their support for his disqualification.
“Trying to be a pale imitation of the right did not help you before, and it will not help you now,” he says. “Those who claim to be fighting for democracy cannot support the disqualification of the Arab minority’s voice.”
The petition to disqualify Abu Shehadeh centers on an article he published the day after the October 7 attacks, in which he described the Hamas assault as “an important historic event militarily, politically and strategically.” Abu Shehadeh has since denied supporting the attack or political violence, saying he would not have published the article had he known the scale of the atrocities at the time.
The Times of Israel Community.