Hanin Zoabi begins six-month ban from Israeli parliament

Hanin Zoabi will be excluded from the Israeli parliament for six months, after the Knesset voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on Wednesday.

Her suspension was endorsed by 68 members of the Knesset, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. 

Only 16 of the 120 Knesset members opposed the move.

The Knesset's "Compliance Committee" imposed the ban on 29 July after Zoabi refused to condemn the kidnapping of three settlers as "terrorist acts", insisting that Palestinians have the right to resist Israel's military occupation.

"I speak on behalf of Palestinians inside Israel," she said. "I tell the truth and stand firm against aggression. What has upset the right wing in Israel is my rejection of war, aggression and war crimes."

'Siding with racists'

In an address to parliament before the vote, Zoabi said she hadn't been elected to please other members, and that the statements in question did not breach the law - nor did they infringe any ethical standards or any humanitarian principles. 

What has upset the right wing in Israel is my rejection of war, aggression and war crimes. - Hanin Zoabi, Knesset Member

She added that anyone voting for the ban was "siding with racists".

On Tuesday, Israeli prosecutors recommended that Zoabi should face trial on a charge of insulting two police officers during the Israeli onslaught on Gaza in July.

Zoabi is alleged to have shot a torrent of verbal abuse at a pair of Arab police officers in a Nazareth courtroom. Prosecutors argue that such conduct is not protected by parliamentary privilege.

Israeli law stipulates that the prosecutors' recommendations must be considered by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein.

The article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.