Likud MK Avichai Boaron announced on Wednesday that he had collected the requisite 70 signatures from fellow MKs in order to initiate a parliamentary process to expel Hadash-Ta’al MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset.

Boaron initially launched the initiative in January after Odeh wrote on X/Twitter that he was “happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners” in the ongoing hostage deal that had just begun.

However, Boaron did not originally receive the requisite number of signatures.

The Likud MK revived the initiative this week after Odeh said during a protest against the war in Haifa on Saturday, “After 600 days, there is an overwhelming majority among both peoples saying: If only these 20 months had never happened.”

“This is a historic defeat for the Right, which was vanquished in Gaza,” Odeh continued. “Gaza won, and Gaza will win.”

Haredi men are seen protesting the effort to draft ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the IDF. (credit: FLASH90)
Haredi men are seen protesting the effort to draft ultra-Orthodox Israelis into the IDF. (credit: FLASH90)

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Notably, four opposition MKs from the National Unity party signed as well – Chili Tropper, Pnina Tameno-Shete, Michael Biton, and Matan Kahana. All of the MKs from the right-wing opposition party, Yisrael Beytenu, also signed.

According to the quasi-constitutional Basic Law: The Knesset, an MK may be impeached for “supporting an armed struggle by an enemy state or terrorist organization against the State of Israel.”

Launching the impeachment process requires 70 signatures, after which the MK is given the opportunity to argue their case in the Knesset House Committee.

If the impeachment is approved in the committee, it reaches the Knesset plenum, where it must receive at least 90 votes. If impeached, the MK can appeal to the High Court of Justice.

The process has never been completed before. The closest it came was in February 2024, when a measure to impeach Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Cassif reached the plenum but failed after receiving 85 votes.

Boaron said in a statement, “A few months ago, we began the process of impeaching Ayman Odeh from the Knesset after he compared the Nukhba terrorists to our hostages and went even further by stabbing the bereaved families, soldiers, and fighters in the back when he said, ‘Gaza has won, and Gaza will win.’”

“Today, the Knesset’s response to Odeh is: Israel has won, and Israel will win; the people of Israel have won and the people of Israel will win; the IDF soldiers have won and the IDF soldiers will win,” Boaron said.

He continued, “Odeh has no place in the Israeli Knesset. A person who supports the enemy, especially during wartime, should not receive a salary from Israeli citizens.”

Hadash-Ta’al responded in a statement on Thursday, “The impeachment process against MK Ayman Odeh is another dangerous step in the political and racist persecution campaign led by the right-wing government at a time when elections are on the horizon.

“It is a systematic attempt to erase the political representation of the Arab society and silence any moral voice who dares to oppose war, occupation, and fascism.”

“The goal of this move is clear: to push us beyond the boundaries of democratic legitimacy just before the elections. This way, the Right will secure an automatic majority to establish a new, even more dangerous and ruthless Kahane-style government,” Hadash-Ta’al said.

“This is an attempt to narrow the scope of discourse, effectively deny Arab citizens the right to vote and be elected, and to break the political power of anyone who believes in peace, equality, and justice. Today it is Ayman – tomorrow it will be anyone who dares to resist,” the party said.

Its statement also included a quote from Odeh. “I continue to say that the right-wing’s way has lost, that the war of extermination has achieved nothing and will achieve nothing, and that the peoples living in this land will rise and win,” he said.

“Hadash-Ta’al will continue to lead the struggle against rising fascism and for a shared future of democracy, equality, justice, partnership, and true peace for both peoples,” Odeh added.