Arab MKs removed from plenum for accusing IDF of war crimes

MK Ahmed Tibi(UAL-Ta'al) accuses IDF of killing innocent women and children in Gaza; MK Stern says such statements are incitement.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Ahmed Tibi at Israel Institute of Democracy forum 370 (photo credit: Courtesy IDI)
Ahmed Tibi at Israel Institute of Democracy forum 370
(photo credit: Courtesy IDI)
Arab lawmakers were removed from the Knesset plenum after calling the IDF war criminals and murderers on Wednesday.
MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta’al) said the army was “committing war crimes in Gaza, including blowing up houses and killing entire families intentionally, [among them] innocent children and women.”
Later, in the plenum, UAL -Ta’al MK Ibrahim Sarsour read names of Palestinians who had been killed in the Gaza Strip since Operation Protective Edge began, saying they were “murdered by IDF soldiers.”
Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Feiglin (Likud) called Knesset ushers to remove Sarsour from the stand. Sarsour resisted, and they had to force him off.
“I wouldn’t want to speak in front of a fascist Nazi like you anyway,” Sarsour told Feiglin.
Tibi later took the stand and started reading names. When MK Orit Struck (Bayit Yehudi) interrupted him, he shouted, “Shut up while I’m reading names of people you killed with missiles! Are you not ashamed? The IDF is committing war crimes.”
UAL -Ta’al MK Masoud Gnaim echoed his fellow party members’ sentiments.
“You are so proud of your moral army, but you are immoral,” Gnaim said. “You massacred and murdered in Gaza, and you have an army of murderers.”
Feiglin had Gnaim removed from the plenum as well.
Hatnua MK Elazar Stern, who took the stand to speak after Gnaim, commented that “calling IDF soldiers murderers is incitement.”