Palestinian-Israeli Member of the Knesset (Parliament) Hanin Zoabi has been stripped of her rights as a Parliamentarian, and will be prevented from addressing the Knesset and participating in votes until the end of the current legislative session.A ruling made by the Ethics Committee of the Knesset on Monday stripped Zoabi of her rights due to her participation in a Freedom Flotilla to the Gaza Strip last year. The young, outspoken lawmaker said the ruling was explicitly political, and that the Ethics Committee was acting outside of its jurisdiction by stripping her of her rights as a legislator.
After a previous Knesset ruling last July that stripped Zoabi of certain rights, the legislator filed a petition with the Israeli High Court accusing the Knesset of overstepping their authority, and of acting to curb ‘political activities, especially those of minority representatives.’ She said that the decision should be made by a court, and not by ‘a committee comprising a rightist majority’ in the Knesset.
Last July’s ruling took away key privileges accorded to all Israeli elected representatives: her diplomatic passport, her permission to travel to countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, and the entitlement to money for legal assistance.
Now, Zoabi will not be allowed to vote, although she will be able to participate in debates in the Knesset.
