The Knesset House Committee voted Monday to impeach 50-year-old Israeli Arab MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Hadash-Ta’al Party.
The 14-2 vote in favor of impeachment came in response to comments he made earlier this year welcoming the release of incarcerated Palestinian Authority terrorists as part of a deal to free Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
The opposition Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu and National Unity parties joined members of the coalition in voting for impeachment.
The matter now goes to the Knesset plenum, where impeachment requires a majority of at least 75 percent of the parliament — 90 out of 120 votes — to pass the measure.
“Throughout the deliberations, Odeh refused to retract or apologize; in fact, he doubled down,” MK Avichai Boaron noted following the vote.
“He still won’t recognize Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations,” he pointed out. “You can’t separate his remarks from the broader context, and I’m confident the Knesset will vote overwhelmingly to remove him.”
Knesset House Committee Chairman MK Ofir Katz said he hopes Yesh Atid and National Unity will continue to support the measure when the vote is taken in the plenum. “Odeh must go,” he declared.
