The Knesset House Committee voted to advance the impeachment of Israeli-Arab MK Ayman Odeh to the wider plenum on Monday following statements he made regarding a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas in January.
The Knesset has never impeached one of its members.
Odeh sparked outrage on January 19 when he said he was “happy for the release of the hostages and prisoners” as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The hostages he referenced included Emily Damari, Doron Steinbacher, and Romy Gonen, who had been held by Hamas. The Palestinian prisoners released in exchange were not convicted murderers, though several carried out failed terror attacks.
Odeh’s referral to the plenum was backed by a vote of 14-2.
At one point during the discussion, committee chairman Ofir Katz was forced to briefly suspend the proceedings when MKs Ofer Kassif (Hadash) and Nissim Vaturi (Likud) got into a heated argument.
The removal of Odeh, who leads the Hadash-Ta’al party and its five seats, requires the support of 90 MKs and then pass a High Court of Justice review.
In response to Odeh’s comments, Likud MK Avichai Boaron began collecting the required 70 signatures to initiate an impeachment vote. Still, Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik told the committee there was a “real doubt” that Odeh’s remark “rises to the level of support for terror.”
Odeh defended his remarks, arguing that “most of the prisoners released that day were not charged with anything at all,” and that many were minors. While none of the Palestinian terrorists released that day were charged with murder, several had attempted failed terror attacks.
Separately, on June 23, the Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Odeh for two weeks without pay over unrelated comments accusing Israel of “starvation and massacres” in Gaza. His party colleague, MK Aida Touma Suleiman, was also suspended for three days for similar accusations against the Israeli military.
While lawmakers have never removed a sitting MK, the Ethics Committee suspended Arab MK Haneed Zoabi for comments supporting Hamas during the Gaza war of 2014. MK Azmi Bishara resigned from the Knesset and fled Israel in 2007 after being investigated for aiding Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War. And in 2024, the Central Elections Committee disqualified Cassif from running due to statements perceived as supporting armed struggle, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision.
Odeh announced in May 2023 that he would not seek re-election.
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