On January 20, MK Avihai Boaron (Likud) informed Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana that he had begun collecting the 70 signatures required to initiate impeachment proceedings against MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Arab list Hadash-Ta’al. The move followed a controversial tweet by Odeh the previous night, in which he wrote that he was “happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners”—a statement made as hostages Romy Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbracher were returning to Israel in exchange for terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands.
Boaron criticized Odeh for equating Israeli hostages with convicted terrorists, writing, “In a moment of unity for the people of Israel, Odeh chose to make a disgraceful comparison between the return of innocent hostages and the release of murderers and terrorists. His words clearly amount to support for terrorism.”
On Monday, the impeachment process against MK Ayman Odeh advanced to the Knesset Committee, which is set to deliberate on his potential removal from office. A vote is expected at the conclusion of the session; if three-quarters of the committee members support the motion, it will proceed to the full Knesset plenum. There, a supermajority of 90 MKs is required to finalize the decision. Should the plenum vote in favor of his removal, Odeh would still have the option to appeal the decision in court.
The effort to remove MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset is expected to face significant legal challenges. The impeachment motion, filed in January with the backing of 70 Knesset members, is based on just two public statements by Odeh—tweets in which he expressed happiness over the release of “the hostages and prisoners” and called to “free both peoples from the yoke of occupation,” adding, “We are all free people.” Legal experts suggest these remarks alone may fall short of the threshold required to justify impeachment.
Crucially, the motion does not include other more controversial statements made by Odeh, such as comments delivered at a demonstration in Haifa a month earlier, where he declared, “Gaza won and Gaza will win.” That omission is reportedly due to procedural constraints.
Sources familiar with the legal aspects of the case said that Odeh’s tweet about released hostages and prisoners likely does not meet the legal definition of incitement to terrorism, contrary to claims made in the impeachment request. They added that in order to justify removal from office, there must be a clear pattern of support for armed struggle—something the current evidence does not conclusively demonstrate. As a result, even if the Knesset ultimately approves his removal, legal experts expect the High Court of Justice would likely overturn the decision.
Separately, on Sunday, the Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Odeh for two weeks without pay following recent remarks in which he accused Israel of engaging in starvation and massacre in Gaza. MK Aida Touma-Suleiman, a fellow member of Odeh’s party, was suspended for three days after accusing the IDF of committing a massacre in the Strip.
Of course, the Arab MKs’ nasty statements are dwarfed by the soliloquy by New Democrats (Labor & Meretz) leader Yair Golan in May, asserting that Israel murders babies as a hobby. Golan is not a member of the Knesset yet, but that statement may be used to disqualify him from running in the next elections.
I’m kidding, of course, only right-wingers get disqualified for things they said (see the case of Dr. Michael Ben Ari – High Court Disqualifies Ben Ari, Approves Anti-Zionist Arab Parties).
