From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 1, 2026
High Court unanimously urges Abou Shahadeh to end candidacy, says majority backs ban
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.
The High Court unanimously urges Balad chairman Sami Abou Shahadeh to end his candidacy in the upcoming election, with Supreme Court President Isaac Amit telling him that a majority of the nine-justice panel would uphold his recent disqualification by the Central Elections Committee.
“There is a majority for your disqualification,” Amit tells Abou Shahadeh during the hearing. “We recommend that Abou Shahadeh withdraw from the race.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose far-right Otzma Yehudit party filed the petition to disqualify Abou Shahadeh and who personally argued the case before the court, denounces the proposal as “far too lenient,” insisting the court should formally bar him from running.
“He should not be given the opportunity to withdraw. There should be a ruling,” Ben Gvir says.
The coalition-controlled CEC voted last week to disqualify Abou Shahadeh over an article he published a 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 today’s hearing and denied supporting armed struggle.
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