From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 30, 2025
Knesset committee votes to advance impeachment of Arab MK Ayman Odeh
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. 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"
Lawmakers in the Knesset House Committee vote overwhelmingly to advance the impeachment of MK Ayman Odeh, the chairman of the Arab majority Hadash-Ta’al party, over comments he made welcoming the release of Palestinian security prisoners as part of a hostage release deal with Hamas earlier this year.
Lawmakers, including representatives of the opposition Yesh Atid and National Unity parties, vote 14-2 in favor of impeachment. The matter will now be referred to the Knesset plenum, where 90 MKs will have to vote in favor in order to impeach Odeh.
“The opposition crossed a red line today. Instead of fighting the Kahanist government – it collaborated with them in crushing the democratic space,” Odeh says in a statement following the vote. “Some of them hate us more than they love democracy. This is not an opposition – it is a coalition in disguise. And this is the final signature on the Nation-State Law” that officially defines Israel as the Jewish nation-state.
“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,” Odeh adds, calling on the leaders of the Knesset opposition to “wake up.”
Ahead of the vote, committee chairman Ofir Katz tells opposition lawmakers that it is not enough to vote in favor in the House Committee but their entire parties will have to support impeachment in the plenum as well.
The Times of Israel Community.