Justice Alex Stein said during a Supreme Court hearing on the disqualification of Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh from running in the 26th Knesset elections that "when you read the article Abu Shehadeh wrote on October 8 in real time and spontaneously, we learn that he supports terror. The explanations that came 'afterward' are what is called 'cheap talk.'" Sami Abu Shehadeh's representative, attorney Hassan Jabareen, said during the hearing that the statement claiming "October 7 is a historic and strategic event" does not constitute support for armed struggle.