An Israeli parliamentary committee has declined to act against a right-wing lawmaker who has issued calls to “burn Gaza” and described Palestinians in abusive terms, sparking controversy and exposing itself to charges of double standard.
The reason cited by the Knesset Ethics Committee for taking a lenient view of the offensive comments by Deputy Speaker Nissim Vaturi: the remarks were merely an expression of political ideology and any censure would amount to undermining freedom of speech.
The same committee, however, has repeatedly censured or suspended lawmakers for speaking out against Israeli offensives in Gaza.
Hadash-Ta’al member of the Knesset (MK) Ofer Cassif had complained to the committee against Vaturi, of the Likud party, for his series of calls to “burn Gaza” since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas.
In February, Vaturi escalated the rhetoric, saying on Israeli radio: “Israel needs to separate the children and women and kill the adults in Gaza — we are being too considerate.”
He also described Palestinians as “scoundrels”, “subhumans”, and “outcasts”.
Yet in a ruling earlier this month, the Knesset Ethics Committee declined to discipline Vaturi. The committee acknowledged that his remarks “do not add respect to the Knesset as an institution”, particularly given his leadership role, but concluded: “Due to the importance of safeguarding freedom of speech, there is no justification for ruling that he violated the ethics rules.”
However, this defence stands in contrast to the committee’s earlier decisions.
In November 2024, the committee imposed the harshest penalty in its history — a six-month suspension from the Knesset — on Cassif after he joined proceedings at the International Court of Justice and accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza.
Cassif, a leftist politician and one of the few Jewish lawmakers to criticise Israel’s war on Gaza, has referred to Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian territory as a “genocidal massacre” — a comment for which he was also previously suspended from parliamentary activity and denied two weeks’ pay.
“Such is the state of the so-called democracy in Israel that those who chant their support for genocide and celebrate the killing of innocents are considered heroes, while those who fight for justice and peace are persecuted as ‘traitors’,” Cassif said following the ruling, calling it “the utmost example of political censorship amidst the escalating fascistation of Israeli society.”
Earlier, the Knesset Ethics Committee had dismissed a complaint by Cassif against Deputy Speaker Hanoch Milwidsky of the Likud party, who had voiced support — during a debate with Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi — for Israeli soldiers documented for abusing and sexually assaulting Palestinian detainees.
A pattern of unequal enforcement
Arab lawmakers, too, have faced repeated disciplinary measures. MK Iman Khatib-Yassin was suspended for a month and denied two weeks' salary for questioning unverified claims of rape and beheadings during the October 7 attack.
MK Aida Touma-Sliman was sanctioned for comments on social media against Israel’s bombing of hospitals.
She was suspended from Knesset meetings for two months after she shared a post on X criticising the Israeli bombings on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.
“And they still insist: The ‘most moral army in the world’ does not harm innocents and does not attack hospitals!,” she wrote on November 11.
In 2016, MK Basel Ghattas was banned from parliamentary duties for six months over allegations of smuggling mobile phones and SIM cards to Palestinian prisoners. He was later placed under house arrest for 10 days.
By contrast, the committee has taken no action against officials such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich despite their history of anti-Arab remarks and incitement to violence against Palestinians.
Smotrich’s 2023 call to “wipe out” the Palestinian town of Huwara was met with international condemnation, including from the US State Department, but there was no ethics sanction.
The Ethics Committee, made up of Knesset members, is responsible for maintaining parliamentary decorum and enforcing ethical standards.
Critics, however, say its rulings increasingly reflect Israel’s political polarisation and a double standard in how political speech is policed.
Incitement without consequence
Jewish ultranationalist lawmakers have repeatedly made dehumanising or violent statements without sanction.
Far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir has called for the expulsion of “disloyal Arabs” and threatened Arab MKs. Complaints to the Ethics Committee have been dismissed on the grounds of protecting political speech.
Vaturi’s remarks, which polls suggest resonate with nearly half of Israeli Jews, according to a Pennsylvania State University survey, were similarly defended as “ideological”.
Palestinian and leftist Jewish MKs continue to face suspensions, salary cuts, and public rebukes for criticising the war on Gaza — often under the pretext of harming Israel’s international image or legitimacy.
As the assaults on Gaza continue, leaving at least 54,000 Palestinians dead, the committee's decisions have triggered questions about how much dissent is allowed in a legislature that claims to be democratic.
Riyad Mansour accuses Israel of trying to create an illusion of allowing aid into the blockaded enclave, while ensuring life can't be sustained there.
