Joint List MK Sami Abu Shehadeh resigned from the Knesset Thursday after the High Court signaled it would rule to disqualify him, the party announced.
The resignation makes a formal ruling unnecessary, and the court will not need to issue a decision. The move serves both sides: Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit avoids issuing a disqualification that would contradict his past rulings in favor of Arab candidates who praised terrorists, while the Arab parties avoid setting a precedent of a court ruling against an Arab MK.
Throughout the hearing, Abu Shehadeh attempted to explain what he meant in an article he published on October 8 praising the Hamas massacre, and tried to walk back his statements. But the justices were not persuaded, and nearly all of them signaled they did not accept his explanations.
Many right-wing journalists called on Amit not to hint at resignation, arguing this was an excellent opportunity to issue a detailed ruling explaining the severity of Abu Shehadeh's statements.
Chief Justice Amit, for his part, was also concerned about approving the disqualification, since the Attorney General herself said repeatedly that he should be disqualified.
