Israel MKs call for ouster of Hanin Zoabi

Members of Israel’s right-wing Yisrael Beteinu yesterday launched procedures to impeach Arab Member of Knesset Hanin Zoabi after she called on “millions of Palestinians to march on Jerusalem”.

On Sunday, Likud MK Oren Hazan filed a complaint to the Knesset Ethics Committee against Zoabi. He warned that he would file a lawsuit against Zoabi in the Israeli High Court if the Ethics Committee did not respond to his complaint.

During a press conference held in the UN Headquarters in New York last week, Zoabi called for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to take part in the Great March of Return in an effort to end the Israeli occupation.

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“We need popular marches to remind the world with the siege… Millions of Palestinians have to move towards Jerusalem,” she said. “We hope to do this, but we cannot because the Israelis will kill us.”

She also said that “Israel changes from a racist state to a fascist state… Israel is not defending itself as it claims, as it claims, the occupation and imposing a siege is not self-defence, it is an act of terror.”

In July 2016, the Israeli Knesset approved a law that allows MKs to be expelled if they are found to be inciting terror and disloyalty to Israel. Such a move would need the backing of 90 MKs out of 120.