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| Hadash MP Ayman Odeh |
Speaking at the Knesset Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, December 10, the Hadash-Ta’al chair stated that, while Hamas’s attack on innocent civilians on October 7, 2023, constituted a “very deep moral injury,” expressing his opposition to “harming innocent people.” He also believed that every nation “has a right to struggle against its occupants.” “This is true in every place in the world, and this is the right of the Palestinian people,” said.
Calling Odeh the “representative of the terrorists in the Knesset,” Ben Gvir posts a video of the lawmaker’s remarks and quips that soon legislation allowing for the deportation of the families of terrorists “will soon also apply to you.”
Latterly, Odeh published on X, “Ben Gvir, you are a disgusting liar. The only convicted supporter of terrorism in the Knesset is you. My terrible shock and condemnation of the murder of innocent people on October 7 was sharp and clear, and unlike you, I also support the families of the hostages in Gaza and their demand to put an end to the war. These are my positions throughout the war. And unlike you, I do not differentiate between blood and blood, between child and child, and do not support the supremacy of a people, but equality between peoples. So, to the question of which of us represents the interests of all citizens in the country, the answer seems to be clear.”
The Knesset in November passed a far-right bill, with the opposition of Hadash-Ta’al, permitting the “deportation of family members of terrorists.”
The racist law gives the Interior Minister the power to expel a first-degree relative of someone who carried out an attack if they had advance knowledge and either: failed to report the matter to the police, or “expressed support or identification with an act of terrorism or published words of praise, sympathy or encouragement for an act of terrorism or a terrorist organization.” Both the Justice Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office raised concerns about the legislation, which stipulates that those being expelled should be sent either to the Gaza Strip or other destinations, depending on circumstances.
According to the Association for Civil rights in Israel (ACRI), “This is not a law at all: it is a populist pamphlet, which, like many other things this terrible Knesset is doing, is intended to mark Arab citizens and residents as disloyal, whose presence is contingent on containment.”
“This law is unnecessary, and there is no way to implement it. All citizens and residents are entitled to rights and protections, not least of which is immunity from deportation from their country, and the right to a fair trial if they are suspected of criminal offenses with the court determining the punishment. No democratic country deports its citizens and residents, and especially not through an administrative process controlled by a political entity. Moreover, no other country is obligated to accept another country’s citizens and residents for extended periods. And the Gaza Strip is not a ‘garbage dump’ for getting rid of those who are unwanted,” ACRI said.
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