From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Odeh: Likud MK’s implication that I’m a security threat is incitement to murder
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"
During an impeachment hearing against him in the Knesset House Committee, Hadash-Ta’al chief Ayman Odeh complains that he is being investigated by legislators while there is still no state commission of inquiry into the government’s failure on October 7.
He also pushes back against committee chairman Ofir Katz’s claim that he constitutes a security threat.
“While the soldiers are fighting on seven fronts, the eighth front needs to be cleared, and Ayman Odeh is our eighth front… He is continuously working to weaken the State of Israel, to discredit it, to undermine it and to strengthen its enemies,” Katz said.
In response, Odeh asserts, “To say that I am the eighth front is incitement to murder.”
During the hearing, attorney Hassan Jabareen argues that “this procedural process is illegal and must be rejected outright. MK Odeh’s [statement], which is currently at the heart of the discussion and concerns the exchange deal, is completely legal – and there is no political or legal problem with it.”
Today’s hearing is to determine whether or not to impeach Odeh for a statement he made appearing to equate Israeli hostages with Palestinian security prisoners.
Odeh tells the committee he will not retract even one word of his statement.
The Arab lawmaker drew outrage from lawmakers across the political spectrum on January 19 after saying that he was “happy for the release of the hostages and prisoners” as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“Now we must free both peoples from the yoke of occupation. We were all born free,” Odeh posted on X, as three Israeli women who were kidnapped by terrorists during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre were released from the Gaza Strip after over 15 months in captivity.
Odeh later defended his statement, characterizing the released Palestinian prisoners as minors and insisting that “most of the prisoners released that day were not charged with anything at all.”
Many of those Palestinians released were in administrative detention, a controversial tool used by Israeli security forces almost exclusively against Arab Israelis and Palestinians, in which they are detained without due process.
While none of those released were charged with murder, several were behind non-deadly terror attack.
According to Basic Law: The Knesset, 90 Knesset members may vote to expel a colleague who expressed support “for an armed struggle” against the State of Israel. Once 70 signatures are collected, the matter is referred to the Knesset House Committee and, if approved there, goes to the plenum for a vote.
The Times of Israel Community.