Israel’s Supreme Court advises Arab party leader to drop election bid

Israel’s Supreme Court advised Arab party leader Sami Abu Shehadeh to withdraw from the October 27 Knesset election to avoid disqualification. The court is hearing appeals against the disqualification of Arab electoral lists and candidates by Israel’s Central Elections Committee. Abu Shehadeh, a former Knesset member from the Joint List, was represented by his legal team, and the court indicated that most judges favored disqualifying him if he does not withdraw by Friday. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that Abu Shehadeh cannot be a Knesset member, accusing him of supporting terrorism.