Police arresting a woman, apparently former MK Hanin Zoabi, from her Nazareth home on September 21, 2025. (Police spokesperson)
Police have detained former Knesset member Hanin Zoabi on suspicion of membership in a terror group and incitement to terror, according to the Ynet news site.
Zoabi, who served in the Knesset from 2009 to 2019 as a member of Palestinian nationalist party Balad, is known in Israel for outspoken criticism of the state.
Police confirm detaining a woman meeting the 59-year-old Zoabi’s description after receiving complaints regarding comments she made to an anti-Israel conference abroad some months ago.
Joint List MK Hanin Zoabi is removed by Knesset security during her speech at a plenum session in the Knesset on February 8, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
“After gathering evidence and checking with relevant figures, it was found that her comments carry suspicion of publicly identifying with a terror group and incitement to terror,” police say in a statement.
She was hauled in for questioning after receiving necessary approvals, the statement notes, indicating the attorney general’s office may have approved the detention.
“Israel police will take severe action against anyone who praises and identifies with terror groups and enemy states and encourages their acts in a time of war, online or anywhere else, for the sake of public security,” the police statement adds.
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