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A disagreement has surfaced within the Israeli State Attorney’s Office regarding a petition to disqualify Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from running in the upcoming 26th Knesset elections. According to reports, senior officials within the office are divided on whether there is sufficient legal basis to block his candidacy.
The petition, filed by the Otzma Yehudit party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, seeks to disqualify Abu Shehadeh under Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset. The petitioners allege that Abu Shehadeh has expressed support for the armed struggle of a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.
Internal reports indicate that the Deputy Attorney General and the Head of the High Court of Justice Department support the disqualification. Conversely, the Deputy State Attorney has expressed reservations, arguing that the evidence provided does not meet the threshold required for disqualification. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has stated she will review Abu Shehadeh’s formal response to the petition before determining the state’s official position.
The petition centers on an article authored by Abu Shehadeh and published on October 8, 2023, on the website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. In the piece, Abu Shehadeh characterized the Hamas attack that occurred the previous day as an important historic event from a military, political, and strategic perspective. He further wrote that Israel’s security services could be thwarted through proper organization, noting that if Gaza was able to carry out the attack, others could do so more effectively.
Otzma Yehudit contends that these statements constitute explicit support for terrorism, thereby rendering Abu Shehadeh ineligible for office. The website where the article appeared is owned by former Knesset member Azmi Bishara, who left Israel following allegations that he provided intelligence to Hezbollah during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
In response to the internal dispute, Minister Ben Gvir criticized the judicial system, alleging that legal precedents have historically provided immunity to figures associated with Bishara. Ben Gvir stated that the current legal process is providing cover for terrorism.
Article source: www.israelnationalnews.com | Image credit: www.israelnationalnews.com
