Israel's Knesset has suspended a pro-Palestine lawmaker for two months and is preparing to vote on expelling another left-wing MK in the latest clampdown on free speech and political dissent over the war on Gaza.
Ofer Cassif, a Knesset member from the left-wing Hadash party, was suspended from parliamentary proceedings on Wednesday by the Knesset's Ethics Committee.
The decision follows 14 complaints lodged against him between October and June, mostly relating to social media posts and public statements critical of the war and Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Cassif, the only Jewish member of the majority-Arab Hadash-Ta'al list, was also docked two weeks' pay. The committee claimed his remarks undermined "the dignity of the Knesset and public trust in it".
Among the cited offences were Cassif's condemnation of the torture and detention of Palestinians "who have done nothing wrong", and his appeal to International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz for war crimes.
In response, Cassif called the suspension a case of "political censorship and persecution", warning it aimed to silence the broader leftist and Arab opposition.
"As a member of parliament who was elected by almost 200,000 voters, Jews and Arabs, and committed to values of justice, peace and democracy, I shall not bow before this harassment and keep standing up for my values, undaunted and unwavering," he posted on X.
The committee also reprimanded a far-right MP of the Otzmah Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, who had called Cassif a "traitor" and "fifth column", but it stopped short of suspending him.
The move comes a week after Palestinian Hadash leader Ayman Odeh was removed from the Knesset by the House Committee.
A final vote on his expulsion is set for Monday. If 90 MKs vote in favour, Odeh, too, will be forced out, despite being elected by nearly 200,000 Arab and Jewish citizens.