From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Suspended far-left MK threatens ‘to blow up the bridges’ to prevent potential relocation of Gazans
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam 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"
Far-left MK Ofer Cassif threatens the use of physical force to prevent the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.
“Facing the notion of Arab deportation and exile — ‘transfer’ — we must stand up and say sharply and simply: It will be impossible because we will not allow it,” Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party, writes in an English-language post on social platform X.
“Even if we have to lie down under the wheels of trucks. Even if we have to blow up the bridges. There will be no mass deportation by force, because we will not allow it to happen,” he continues. He also calls for a Palestinian state.
The Knesset Ethics Committee voted unanimously in November to suspend Cassif from the Knesset for six months over comments he made regarding the Israel Defense Forces and the war in Gaza.
Citing what it called a “systematic pattern of action” for which he failed to show remorse, the committee based its decision on a number of incidents for which Cassif has drawn criticism in recent years, such as a tweet in which he described Palestinians fighting against the IDF in the West Bank city of Jenin as “freedom fighter[s].”
It also cited his public support for a South African motion before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
Per the committee’s decision, Cassif is not allowed to enter the Knesset plenum or committee meetings except in order to vote. He is also not allowed to take part in debates or address parliament.
The Times of Israel Community.