The Knesset Ethics Committee has banned Joint Arab List MK Hanin Zoabi from the Knesset for one week for calling soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces "murderers."
Zoabi made the inflammatory remarks at a meeting of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee, ahead of the first reading of a state education bill on Monday.
In its decision, the Knesset Ethics Committee said the use of the term "murderers" to describe IDF soldiers was not protected by the broad freedoms of expression granted to Knesset members.
As this was not the first time Zoabi violated the Knesset's ethics rules, the committee decided to suspend her from Knesset plenum sessions and committee meetings for seven days, starting from the opening of the Knesset's summer session in June.
Zoabi will still be able to enter the Knesset's plenary hall for voting during her suspension.
In a written response to the Knesset Ethics Committee, Zoabi wrote, "I indeed said that among the IDF's soldiers there are those who murdered Palestinians. … This remark falls under the most fundamental tenet of freedom of expression, and no one has the right to silence people just because certain opinions make them uncomfortable."
MK Oren Hazan, the Likud lawmaker who filed the complaint against Zoabi, said it was "amazing that after incessant incitement, acts of violence and contempt for the state, terrorist Zoabi has no problem crossing the line once again and labeling our soldiers 'murderers.'"
