Sami Abu Shehadeh withdraws his candidacy for the Israeli elections after pressure from the Supreme Court

Sami Abu Shehadeh, the leader of an Arab party in Israel, withdrew his candidacy for the legislative elections scheduled for October 27, after pressure from the Supreme Court to force him to withdraw.

Political analysts describe the Arab parties in Israel as potentially playing an influential role in the results of these elections, as opinion polls do not expect either Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition or the main opposition bloc to obtain a parliamentary majority.

The National Democratic Rally party, to which Abu Shehadeh belongs, announced in a statement that its leader is withdrawing his candidacy, but this step is not the “end” of his political battle, stressing that he will continue to lead the party.

Last week, the Israeli Central Elections Commission voted, at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a prominent figure on the extreme right, in favor of excluding Abu Shehadeh from the electoral race.

The targeting of Abu Shehadeh came against the backdrop of an article in which he described the October 7, 2023 attacks launched by the Hamas movement on Israel as an “important historical event.”

Although he denied supporting those attacks, his position was met with sharp criticism, including from political opponents.

On Thursday, the Israeli Supreme Court held a session to consider the appeal filed by Abu Shehadeh against the decision to exclude him.

In a remarkable legal step, the court refrained from issuing a decisive ruling, and suggested to Abu Shehadeh that he voluntarily withdraw his candidacy, informing him that the majority of its members supported his exclusion, and gave him until Friday morning to make his decision.

Under these circumstances, Abu Shehadeh had no choice but to withdraw to avoid an official decision to exclude him, which would have led to “serious repercussions” for the entire “political and parliamentary work,” according to the National Democratic Rally party.

Disqualifying a candidate from elections is a rare procedure in Israel, where the Supreme Court regularly invalidates disqualification decisions issued by the Election Commission.

The law stipulates that no candidate can be disqualified unless he “denies the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” or “supports the armed struggle waged by a hostile state or terrorist organization against Israel.”

The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah), which represents Abu Shehadeh, accused the Supreme Court of excluding the opposition “de facto” by forcing him to withdraw, and denounced what it described as “a gross violation of the right of Palestinian citizens to representation and run for elections.”

The center stated: “There is nothing in any of the evidence presented against Abu Shehadeh that even remotely indicates a call for violence.”

In addition to Abu Shehadeh, last week, the Elections Commission excluded two Arab-Israeli lists that were candidates for the elections entirely, namely the “Unified Arab List” (the main party) and the “Joint List” (an alliance that includes three parties, including the “National Democratic Rally”) party.

On Friday, the Supreme Court continues to consider the appeals submitted by these parties.