In a High Court of Justice hearing on candidate disqualification, attorney Berman, representing Israel's Attorney General, acknowledged that the office was previously unfamiliar with the article cited as justification. Justice Grosskopf questioned whether criminal prosecution of candidate Abu Shhadeh was considered, stating that far less severe Facebook posts have led to indictments.
During a Thursday morning hearing at the High Court of Justice on the disqualification of candidates for the upcoming elections, attorney Avraham Berman—representing the Attorney General's office—stated that the office had not been familiar with the article that served as a basis for the disqualification request. He noted that senior forums reviewed the article for the first time ahead of the Election Committee discussion.
Justice Grosskopf pressed the issue, asking whether the candidacy of Abu Shhadeh was examined in light of possible criminal prosecution for the article's content, remarking that far milder Facebook posts have resulted in indictments. The exchange highlights the legal threshold faced by the court as it weighs the disqualification petition against free-speech principles and evidentiary standards. No further details on the article's content or the candidate's response were provided during the session.
2 developments
- 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
- DevelopingElections Committee disqualifies Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from Knesset run
- StrongAbu Shehadeh tells elections committee he did not support armed struggle
Source and signal
- Open-source intake