Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdraw

Ayman OdehHadash Knesset member and former party leader

Odeh condemns the move to exclude Abu Shehadeh as part of an attack on democracy. He criticizes the court for pressing an Arab candidate to withdraw his candidacy. English translation: The disqualification of my colleague Sami Abu Shehadeh is the final step in the regime coup.

“פסילתו של חברי סמי אבו שחאדה היא הצעד הסופי בהפיכה המשטרית”

Original post

Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdrawOriginal Hebrew post; opening paragraphs and later discussion of the court hearing.
Sami Abu Shehadeh in a 2021 portrait
Credit: Amir Deeb / Joint List / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Where this statement fits

The effort to disqualify Sami Abu Shehadeh from Israel's 2026 election

Israel's Central Elections Committee voted on September 23, 2026 to disqualify Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh from the October 27 Knesset election. The dispute centers on whether his writing about the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack meets the legal threshold for supporting armed struggle against Israel. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported disqualification. Abu Shehadeh and his lawyers at Adalah challenged the evidence and described the effort as an attack on Arab political representation. At an October 1 hearing, the Supreme Court indicated that a majority favored disqualification and recommended withdrawal, according to court reporting. Balad subsequently announced that its leadership had agreed to withdraw his candidacy while retaining him as party leader. We have not located a final judgment approving the disqualification or an order accepting a formal withdrawal.

Read the full case

Source and context

Original post

Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdraw (opens in a new tab)Original Hebrew post; opening paragraphs and later discussion of the court hearing.

About this source

The speaker criticizes the move to exclude Abu Shehadeh after the October 1 hearing. His description of a decision is his own characterization.

Before the quotation

Odeh responds after the Supreme Court hearing and criticizes supporters of the exclusions of Arab lists and candidates.

After the quotation

He calls for Jewish-Arab political cooperation and opposition to racism.

How this statement is classified

Condemned

The label describes this statement's response within the context above.

Why this label?

Odeh explicitly condemns Abu Shehadeh being excluded and the court request that he withdraw.

Recorded on
Published here

More from this case

Read the full case

Cite this record

Publisher
The Dispute Index
Title
Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdraw
First published
Last updated
Permalink
https://disputeindex.com/events/4385-odeh-condemns-the-move-to-exclude-abu-shehadeh

Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.

The Dispute Index. "Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdraw". First published: 2026-10-01. Last updated: 2026-10-01. https://disputeindex.com/events/4385-odeh-condemns-the-move-to-exclude-abu-shehadeh