Yashar! Party Backs Disqualification of Sami Abu Shehadeh for Knesset Run
The Yashar! party led by Gadi Eisenkot supports disqualifying Sami Abu Shehadeh from the Knesset elections over post-October 7 remarks praising the Hamas attack.
The "Yashar!" party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, announced on Tuesday its support for disqualifying Sami Abu Shehadeh from running in the upcoming Knesset elections.
Disqualification Proceedings and Legal Grounds
The party stated that statements made by Abu Shehadeh following the October 7 massacre crossed the legal threshold established by Basic Law: The Knesset, which prohibits supporting the armed struggle of a terror organization against the State of Israel.
"The day after the massacre, when hundreds of murdered and kidnapped citizens were already known, Abu Shehadeh defined the Hamas attack as an important historical event militarily, politically, and strategically. These words cannot be erased by a clarification post almost three years later," the party declared.
Hearings at the Central Election Committee
Discussions regarding requests to disqualify lists and candidates for the 26th Knesset are taking place under the leadership of Central Elections Committee Chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg. Beyond Abu Shehadeh, the committee is reviewing petitions against several prominent factions, including Ra'am, Otzma Yehudit, The Democrats, and Religious Zionism, alongside individual candidates such as Ofer Cassif.
This is not the first time such a petition has been filed against Abu Shehadeh. Ahead of the 2022 elections, Yisrael Beytenu similarly petitioned the Central Elections Committee to bar the Balad leader from participating in the parliamentary vote.
