Ben Gvir warns Hadash leader ‘next in line’ to be expelled from Knesset

By Sam Sokol 30 January 2024, 9:09 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Screen capture from video of an altercation between leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir (center left) and MK Ayman Odeh, leader of the predominantly Arab-Israeli Joint List party, at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, October 19, 2021. (Twitter)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to threaten Arab MK Ayman Odeh with impeachment, tweeting out a picture of him with the message “next in line.”

The photo shared by Ben Gvir shows Odeh holding the arm of Khalida Jarrar, a legislator and senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as she flashes a victory sign following her release from prison.

הבא בתור pic.twitter.com/EphOxKVnPH

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) January 30, 2024

The far-right leader’s message comes hours after members of the Knesset House Committee overwhelmingly supported a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party lawmaker Ofer Cassif, voting 14-2 to advance his impeachment to the Knesset plenum following two days of contentious debate.

During today’s debate on Cassif’s impeachment, Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ahmad Tibi warned the far-left lawmaker’s ouster would “set a precedent” allowing for the possible impeachment of “all the Arab MKs in the Knesset.”