Israeli Justice Ministry Divided Over Removing Balad Leader Sami Abu Shuhada

Israel’s Justice Ministry is internally fractured over whether to support the removal of Balad chairman Sami Abu Shuhada, with senior legal officials disagreeing sharply on whether evidence of alleged Hamas support is sufficient to justify disqualification from political office.

The legal advisor and head of the Justice Ministry’s legal department have backed the removal, according to reports ^[1][2]. However, the deputy attorney general has concluded that the evidence is insufficient to sustain such a drastic action ^[1]. The attorney general has not yet publicly commented on the dispute, and the ministry is awaiting further legal clarifications before reaching a final decision ^[1].

The controversy centers on Shuhada’s statements and writings following the October 7, 2023 attack. According to reports, Otzmah Yehudit and National Security Minister Ben Gvir submitted a formal request for Shuhada’s disqualification, citing an article he published the day after the attack as well as statements praising militants and supporting what they characterize as terrorist activities ^[3]. The disqualification request invokes Section 7A of the Basic Law on the Knesset, which permits removal of lawmakers based on specific grounds ^[3].

Shuhada, who served as a Knesset member for the Joint List from 2019 to 2022, leads Balad, a Palestinian-Israeli political party. The push for his removal represents an escalation in post-October 7 efforts to hold political figures accountable for statements deemed to support terrorism or delegitimize Israel’s Jewish character ^[3].

The internal Justice Ministry disagreement reflects broader tensions within Israel’s legal establishment over how aggressively to pursue disqualification cases. The divergence between the legal advisor’s position and the deputy attorney general’s assessment suggests uncertainty about the threshold for removing an elected politician based on statements and published writings, even when those statements are controversial or widely condemned.

Within Balad itself, the party has also requested Shuhada’s removal from political activities, marking an internal effort to distance itself from the controversy ^[4]. This development suggests the party leadership may be attempting to preempt or influence the formal legal process.

The case unfolds against the backdrop of intensified scrutiny of political speech in Israel following October 7. Officials and parties across the political spectrum have sought to establish clearer boundaries around what constitutes disqualifying conduct for elected officials, though disagreement persists on whether Shuhada’s statements cross that threshold.