Facing ban from High Court, Balad’s Abou Shehadeh ends candidacy

Sami Abou Shehadeh, the chair of the Arab nationalist Balad party, who faced the prospect of being banned from running in the October 27 election, is ending his candidacy, the party announces.

“The withdrawal of his candidacy is not the end of Abou Shahadeh’s political struggle, and is not the end of Balad’s struggle,” the party says in a statement.

“Abu Shehadeh will continue to lead the party, Balad is continuing its project, and the Joint List continues in its struggle for Arabic representation and to contribute to the ousting of this government of Netanyahu and Ben Gvir,” it says.

The coalition-controlled Central Elections Committee voted last month to disqualify Abou Shehadeh over an article he published the day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, which the attorney general has argued constitutes support for armed struggle against Israel. The vote drew broad support from both sides of the aisle.

Abou Shahadeh expressed regret over the article during a High Court hearing today on the ban, and denied supporting armed struggle.

But the justices unanimously urged him to stand down from the election, telling him that a majority of the nine-justice panel would uphold his disqualification.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who personally argued the case against Abou Shehadeh before the court, celebrates the news of his candidacy ending, but slams the court for not rendering a decision on the matter.

Ben Gvir, in a video statement, vows to remove all “haters of Israel” from the Knesset.