MK faces impeachment after accusing Israel of genocide

Ofer Cassif, a member of the Israeli Knesset, signed a petition filed by South Africa accusing Israel of committing Genocide in Gaza. The petition, which will be submitted on Thursday on behalf of over 200 Israeli citizens, claims the Israeli government is systematically erasing livelihoods and wiping out Gaza’s population. It requests an International Court of Justice (ICJ) to open an investigation into Israeli actions in the Palestinian Territory.

Explaining his reasons for supporting the petition on X, Cassif said: “My constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all of its residents, not to a government and its coalition members who call for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide. They are the ones that harm the country and its people; they are the ones who led South Africa to approach The Hague, not me and my cabinet members.”

The petition is expected to be presented to the ICJ toward the beginning of the hearing which starts on Thursday. The petition reads, in part, “The information that emerges from the lawsuit is both horrific and credible. Israel is, indeed, taking systematic and thorough steps to wipe out the population of Gaza; to starve, abuse and displace it. It has implemented a policy of erasing options for livelihood, which is leading to genocide.”

Despite killing more than 23 thousand Palestinians, Israel claims that its conduct in Gaza does not constitute genocide. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said today that “there is nothing more atrocious and preposterous” than a lawsuit filed in the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide.

READ: Based on the experience in Bosnia, Israel must be held accountable for the genocide in Gaza

Fellow member of the Israeli Knesset, Oded Forer condemned Cassif’s “treasonous words” and began gathering signatures to oust him from the Knesset, saying his support for the legal move aids Hamas and harms Israel’s security. According to Haaretz, Forer collected 70 signatures from cabinet members across all factions calling for Cassif’s removal from the Knesset.

With 70 signatures in the bag, Forer would be allowed to submit them to the Knesset committee, after which 90 votes would be required to enact official impeachment proceedings against Cassif.

Cassif has a history of angering Israeli lawmakers. In late October, the Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Cassif for 45 days and revoked his salary for two weeks for expressing “a connection between the content world of the Holocaust and current government policy in times of war,” according to Haaretz.

The eruption over the Gaza war crimes petition suggests growing domestic Israeli tensions over the violence and international scrutiny of military and political conduct in the Occupied Territories. Cassif sits at the fault line, willing to hold a mirror to Israeli society.