Israeli lawmaker harasses Palestinian families visiting jailed relatives

A controversial Israeli lawmaker on Monday verbally abused Palestinians Gaza on their way to meet relatives jailed in Israel, calling their sons "dogs" and "terrorists."

Oren Hazan, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party, boarded a bus carrying Palestinians from Gaza to visit relatives in Israel's Nafha military jail.

Hazan used the stunt to criticise Israel's policy of allowing permits for such visits while Gaza's Hamas rulers allegedly hold three civilians and the bodies of two Israeli soldiers.

"Your relatives belong in the ground," he says in the footage, demanding that passengers denounce "terrorist acts" against Israel.

"Your son is a dog," he tells a woman from Gaza.

Footage of the incident has been shared widely on Palestinian and Israeli social media, and prompted a rare response from a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas.

"Instead of sending an idiot to carry out childish acts... try to resolve the issue with courage and without intimidating women," Abu Obeida said in a statement to the Israeli authorities.

Israel's parliament reportedly decided to give Hazan a security detail after video footage of the incident went viral.

There are currently around 6,500 Palestinians being held in Israeli military jails.

In 2015, the controversial lawmaker was suspended from his position as deputy speaker of Israel's parliament after a televised report accused him of involvement in pimping and drugs.

Hazan also came under fire in July this year after posting a video claiming he would execute the family of a Palestinian assailant, despite there being no evidence of them perpetuating any violence.

In August, Netanyahu intervened to stop Hazan meeting a Jordanian lawmaker on the border, fearing a fistfight.