Lawmakers on the Knesset House Committee voted overwhelmingly on Monday to back the removal of MK Ayman Odeh, prompting sharp criticism from the head of the Arab-led Hadash-Ta’al faction, who accused the government of trying to silence Arab voices in Israel.
After two days of intense deliberations, the committee—including members from opposition parties Yesh Atid and National Unity—voted 14 to 2 in favor of pushing forward the impeachment. The issue now heads to the full Knesset for a vote, where 90 members would have to approve in order to formally expel Odeh.
The proceedings focused on a controversial message Odeh posted earlier this year in which he seemed to draw a parallel between Israeli captives held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israel.
Odeh caused a political firestorm on January 19 when he wrote on X that he was “happy for the release of the hostages and prisoners” as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
In his defense, Odeh later clarified that the Palestinians freed were primarily minors, and he argued that “most of the prisoners released that day were not charged with anything at all.”
Although none of those released were convicted murderers, several had been involved in failed attacks, such as 15-year-old Mahmoud Aliowat, who wounded two people in a shooting in Jerusalem’s City of David neighborhood at the age of 13.
Reacting to Odeh’s remarks, Likud MK Avichai Boaron recently launched a signature drive among fellow lawmakers to initiate the impeachment process, asserting that “whoever sticks a knife in the back of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel will not be a member of Knesset.”
Addressing supporters protesting against the move outside the Knesset, Odeh maintained that Boaron’s efforts were part of a broader campaign to marginalize Arab citizens.
“Under the cover of this war, they want to bring us backwards, to hurt freedom of expression that we over the course of many years struggled to expand,” he declared, as demonstrators brandished red flags adorned with communist symbols and multilingual signs backing Odeh.
According to Israel’s Basic Law: The Knesset, lawmakers can expel an MK who expresses backing for “an armed struggle” against the state. Once 70 MKs endorse such a motion, it is reviewed by the House Committee, and if approved, goes to the full plenum for a final vote.
Although the key point of contention was whether Odeh’s post amounts to support for terrorism, committee members brought up other examples to strengthen their argument, including his recent claim that “Gaza has won, and Gaza will win.”
“If it were up to him, he would shoot each one of us in the head. In his subconscious, he wants to eliminate all of us here,” said Likud MK Osher Shekalim during the hearing.
Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech argued that removing Odeh was a matter of principle, not politics. “The proposal to impeach Odeh is not a political question but a moral one. There is no justification for a person who supports terrorists and who was happy about the release of terrorists to serve as a member of Knesset,” she stated, adding that there was “broad consensus on the issue.”
Although a previous attempt to remove MK Ofer Cassif of Hadash-Ta’al in February 2024 failed due to insufficient backing in the plenum, this time the measure had strong support from the opposition. Yesh Atid’s Simon Davidson and National Unity’s Pnina Tamano-Shata both voted in favor.
Tamano-Shata emphasized to the committee that “One of the grounds for dismissing an MK is incitement to racism, and I tell you, antisemitism is racism and anyone who shouts ‘Gaza will win’ during a war does not deserve to sit in the Knesset.”
She added that Odeh must “decide whether he is a Gazan or an Israeli.”
When asked if Yesh Atid would support the measure in the full plenum, party chairman and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid told reporters, “anyone who speaks like this should not be a member of Knesset.”
National Unity head Benny Gantz, meanwhile, voiced discomfort with the idea of legislators voting to expel one of their own, though he did condemn Odeh’s remarks. “We will hold a members’ debate beforehand and decide what we are doing,” he said.
Odeh responded to Davidson and Tamano-Shata’s support for the measure by accusing the opposition of working hand in hand with the coalition to erode democracy. “Some of them hate us more than they love democracy,” he said, adding, “They want to subdue the judicial system, silence critical voices, and turn Israel into a messianic dictatorship. Today it’s me – tomorrow it’s you. Anyone who dares to oppose will be next in line.”
MK Ofer Cassif voiced similar sentiments on social media, calling the hearing a “shameful and grotesque show trial, a political lynching [in which] Knesset members competed over who could shout louder, incite more, rant more, attack more, act more thuggishly, and slander more.”
He warned that “the decision to dismiss MK Odeh is another step in the rampage of fascism in Israel, which will also reach those opposition elements that joined the bloodthirsty coalition in supporting this persecution and impeachment.”
Cassif was ejected twice from the committee session, while Ra’am MK Waleed Taha was removed once and nearly thrown out a second time for speaking Arabic—prompting complaints that disruptions by Arab MKs were penalized, while similar behavior by coalition members was ignored.
Sagit Afik, the Knesset’s legal adviser, acknowledged that while public outrage over Odeh’s statement was understandable, that didn’t necessarily mean it met the legal criteria for removal. “A clear case must exist in which there is a significant mass of clear, unequivocal and convincing evidence showing that support for armed struggle is a dominant feature within the framework of the candidate’s aspirations,” she told the panel. “It is doubtful whether this statement meets the test of support for an armed struggle by a terrorist organization.”
Deputy Attorney General Avital Sompolinsky concurred, stating that Odeh’s message may be “outrageous,” but “does not meet the required threshold.”
Democrats party leader Yair Golan, referencing Odeh’s decision not to run for reelection, dismissed the entire effort as political posturing. “His impeachment is another victory for the nationalist-extremist government over a secure and democratic Israel. This morning it’s Ayman. This afternoon it’s the public broadcasting corporation. Tomorrow it’s the attorney general. The day after tomorrow it’s you. Wake up,” he tweeted.
{Matzav.com Israel}