Israeli Knesset committee advances move to impeach Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Odeh

Lawmakers in Israel on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favour of advancing the impeachment of Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh, who has been targeted by the Israeli far-right for his comments on Gaza and Palestinian detainees.

MKs on the Knesset House committee voted 14-2 in favour of Odeh's expulsion after Israeli opposition parties joined with the far-right governing coalition.

Odeh, head of the left-wing Hadash-Ta'al alliance, has faced impeachment proceedings after he published a social media post celebrating the release of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives in Gaza.

"I am happy about the release of the abductees and the prisoners. From here, both peoples must be freed from the yoke of the occupation. We are all free," he wrote in a post on X earlier this year.

Following the vote, Odeh condemned the opposition parties for siding with the government.

"The opposition crossed a red line today. Instead of fighting the Kahanist government it collaborated with them in crushing the democratic space," he said.

"Some of them hate us more than they love democracy. This is not an opposition – it is a coalition in disguise. And this is the final signature of the Nation State Law," he added, referring to the 2018 legislation that defined Israel as an exclusively Jewish state.

MKs in Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid and Benny Gantz's National Unity voted with the government in Monday's vote.

"In a civilized country, Ayman Odeh is supposed to rot in prison and have no citizenship," committee chairman and Likud MK Ofir Katz said during the meeting.

Far-right lawmakers accused Odeh of "supporting terrorism" for criticising the conduct of the Israeli military in Gaza.

Likud MK Avihai Boaron, a settler activist who initiated the impeachment proceedings, described Odeh a "disgrace to the Knesset" and "an insult to IDF soldiers and all citizens of the country".

Israeli human rights organisation Adalah called the impeachment drive a "campaign of political persecution".

"The overwhelming support for this motion, from both the ruling coalition and the opposition, despite the clear illegality of the procedure, is part of a broader fascist and racist campaign targeting Arab political parties and their representatives," Adalah’s General Director Hassan Jabareen said in a statement.

Jabareeen represented Odeh before the committee at Monday's hearing.

The motion will now be passed to the Knesset plenum, where 90 MKs will have to vote in favour in order for Odeh to be expelled.