Sawsan Zaher says Abu Shehadeh's case lacks the required evidence
Sawsan ZaherPalestinian human rights lawyer
Sawsan Zaher argued that Abu Shehadeh's case lacked the sustained evidence required to disqualify a candidate for supporting armed struggle.
“This is not present in Sami’s case.”
Interview
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.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Reporting with directly attributed interview comments by Zaher on the legal threshold and Balad's response.
Before the quotation
Zaher described a requirement for several statements showing that support for armed struggle was central to a candidate's political activity.
After the quotation
She argued that Balad should contest the ban instead of withdrawing, because withdrawal would achieve exclusion without a court ruling.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to excluding Abu Shehadeh, Zaher challenges the evidentiary basis for the ban and urges a legal challenge to it.
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- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseBalad objects to exclusion while announcing withdrawal
Balad
“استخدام الشطب أداةً لتضييق مساحة العمل السياسي العربي وملاحقة المواقف الوطنية الخارجة عن الإجماع الإسرائيلي.”Read statement
Odeh condemns pressure on Abu Shehadeh to withdraw
“פסילתו של חברי סמי אבו שחאדה היא הצעד הסופי בהפיכה המשטרית”Read statement
Cassif condemns the move to exclude Abu Shehadeh
“אני מאוד מאוכזב, וכעוס על ההחלטה לגבי חברי סאמי אבו שחאדה.”Read statement
Cite this record
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- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Sawsan Zaher says Abu Shehadeh's case lacks the required evidence
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4393-sawsan-zaher-argued-that-abu-shehadeh-s-case
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Sawsan Zaher says Abu Shehadeh's case lacks the required evidence". First published: 2026-10-01. Last updated: 2026-10-01. https://disputeindex.com/events/4393-sawsan-zaher-argued-that-abu-shehadeh-s-case