Right-wing effort to oust far-left MK doesn’t appear to have enough support to succeed

MK Ofer Cassif attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on January 30, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
MK Ofer Cassif attends a House committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on January 30, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset will hold a vote later today on whether to oust far-left Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Cassif; but as it currently stands, the right-wing lawmakers leading the effort do not appear to have the support of enough colleagues in order to succeed.

Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, who is spearheading the initiative, is keeping a tally on his website, which shows that only 78 MKs have indicated that they will back Cassif’s ouster after he expressed his support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

Ninety votes are required in order to remove a Knesset member from their seat.

While right-wing lawmakers from both the coalition and the opposition have expressed support for ousting Cassif, they will need help from centrist lawmakers from the Yesh Atid and National Unity parties who have not appeared prepared to give it thus far.

Even if the vote did pass, it would likely be overturned by the High Court of Justice due to the questionable legal standing of the move.

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