Eisenkot backs election ban for Arab party head who called Oct. 7 an ‘important histo

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party said Tuesday that it supports a bid to disqualify Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from running for the 26th Knesset, after Otzma Yehudit formally petitioned last week to bar his candidacy. Yashar! cited an article Abu Shehadeh published on Oct. 8, 2023, in which he described Hamas’ attack a day earlier as “an important historic event militarily, politically and strategically.” “These words cannot be erased by a clarification post almost three years later,” the party said. Yashar! does not currently sit in the Knesset and therefore has no representative on the body that will vote on the disqualification request. The party nevertheless said it believes Abu Shehadeh’s remarks crossed the threshold set by Basic Law: The Knesset, which bars support for an armed struggle by a terrorist organization against Israel.