Israel Police detained former Arab Knesset member Haneen Zoabi on Sunday morning on suspicion of incitement and publicly expressing support for a terrorist organization.
The arrest follows complaints about remarks Zoabi made at the Palestine Congress in Vienna in October 2024, where she justified Hamas’ October 7 attack.
“It wasn’t Hamas that resisted; it was the Palestinian people. And yes, you cannot separate Hamas from the Palestinian people,” Zoabi said in her speech. “When they entered on October 7, they did not enter Israeli territory; they entered their own land. This is their land.”
Police said her comments raised suspicion of “publicly expressing support for a terrorist organization and incitement to commit an act of terrorism.”