Far-right mob attacks Odeh's car with stones, sticks and curses as he heads to anti-war event
Far-right Israelis physically assaulted Arab lawmaker Ayman Odeh on Saturday in the town of Ness Ziona, just south of Tel Aviv, his office said.
Odeh, who heads the Hadash–Ta'al alliance in the Knesset, was on his way to speak at a rally against the war on Gaza when a group of far-right Israelis surrounded his car.
“They smashed the windows while he was inside. They spat at him, cursed him, hit the vehicle with sticks, and threw stones,” his office said in a statement.
Despite the assault, Odeh continued to the event and delivered his speech.
“This war must end. A prisoner swap must be reached now,” he told the crowd.
His office accused Israeli police of “total complicity,” saying officers stood by and did nothing to stop the attack, even as extremists chased and hit the lawmaker in broad daylight.
No injuries were reported, but the incident sparked outrage among human rights groups and political allies.
The attack came just days after a failed Knesset vote to expel Odeh from parliament over a social media post supporting a prisoner exchange with the Palestinian group Hamas.
“I'm staying,” he wrote defiantly after the vote. “This fascist campaign has failed. We will keep fighting for equality, peace and democracy.”
Odeh, one of the most prominent Arab voices inside Israel, has faced growing threats over his criticism of the Gaza war.
At a rally in Haifa in northern Israel last month, he declared: “Gaza has won — and Gaza will win.”
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing nearly 59,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children.
The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and spread of disease.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
