Balad chairman asks not to be disqualified over article praising October 7 massacre

Sami Abu Shehadeh, chairman of the Balad party, is requesting the Central Elections Committee not to disqualify him despite writing an article that praised the achievements of the October 7 massacre. Abu Shehadeh claims he was unaware of the massacre's scale when he wrote the article on October 8, stating "the full extent of the atrocities had not yet become clear." His remarks came in response to a disqualification petition filed by the Otzma Yehudit party.