Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, in a statement reported Wednesday by Channel 12 News, said his earlier article 'should not have been written' and clarified that he never supported Hamas' armed struggle against Israel. He condemned the October 7 massacre and described himself as a man of law committed to democratic, non-violent struggle within international law.
Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, issued a statement on Wednesday — reported by Channel 12 News — in which he condemned the October 7, 2023, massacre and explicitly denied ever supporting Hamas' armed struggle against Israel. He said his October 8, 2023, article "should not have been written" and described himself as a man of law committed to democratic, non-violent struggle.
The statement marks the latest stage in a shifting sequence of explanations from Abu Shehadeh over the past week. On Tuesday, Sep 22, at 13:11 Jerusalem, Channel 14 published video footage of Abu Shehadeh speaking two days after the Oct 7 attack, in which he appeared to express pride in Hamas terrorists and praise the massacre (as The Zioneer reported). Later that same day, Abu Shehadeh told The Zioneer he was unaware of the full scale of the atrocities when he wrote his post and regretted writing it. Earlier, on Friday, Sep 18, he told the Central Elections Committee that his October 8 article had been mistranslated — that his reference to a "campaign" was incorrectly rendered as "battle."
The new Channel 12 report does not address the September 22 video footage. Abu Shehadeh's blanket denial of supporting Hamas' armed struggle appears to contradict the impression left by that recording, raising questions about the consistency of his account. As The Zioneer has reported, a separate case involving Israeli-Arab attorney Asala Abu Khdeir — who was suspended for expressing support for the Oct 7 attack — has highlighted the legal boundaries of such expressions in Israel.
What remains unclear is whether Abu Shehadeh's latest statement will satisfy the concerns raised by the video evidence, and whether any further investigations or party-political consequences will follow.
4 developments
- DevelopingElections Committee disqualifies Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from Knesset run
- StrongAttorney Yosef Jabarin defends Sami Abu Shehadeh at CEC disqualification hearings
- StrongAbu Shehadeh tells panel his Oct 8 warning was mistranslated as 'battle', denies praising Hamas
- StrongAG representative: lack of article disclaimer reveals candidate's real-time thinking
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