The ploy failed: Sohlberg rejected Abu Shahada's request to postpone the hearing

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg rejected Balad chairman Sami Abu Shahada's request to postpone the hearing on his disqualification from running for the 26th Knesset, and ordered it to be held via Zoom. The Attorney General and the State Attorney submitted a position to the Elections Committee stating that there is evidentiary basis for his disqualification, unlike other candidates. Minister Ben Gvir led the disqualification request following an article Abu Shahada published after October 7.

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg today (Tuesday) rejected the request of Balad chairman Sami Abu Shahada to postpone the hearing on his disqualification from running for the 26th Knesset. Abu Shahada tried to halt the proceedings claiming he was "injured," but Sohlberg dismissed the excuse and ordered the hearing to proceed as scheduled via Zoom. Against the backdrop of the hearing, the Attorney General and the State Attorney submitted their official position to the Central Elections Committee, stating that in Abu Shahada's case there is evidentiary basis for his disqualification, mainly from an article he published on October 8, 2023. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir submitted a formal request to disqualify Abu Shahada under Section 7A of Basic Law: The Knesset, which prohibits support for armed struggle. In the article, Abu Shahada called the terror attack a "significant historical event" and praised the Hamas terrorists. Ben Gvir said that "the time has come for a systemic and conceptual change" and that "we will put an end to the phenomenon of terrorist supporters taking over the Knesset of Israel."