The parliament enacted the suspension or the dislodgment of its members who are accused of racial provocation, or of supporting armed struggles against Israel.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed the new law, saying it ends the “absurd situation” whereby someone who “supports terror against the state of Israel and its citizens” can serve as a member of parliament, Reuters reported.
The bill had faced heavy criticism because of expectations it would be used to target Arab lawmakers, having been proposed after three of them visited families of Palestinians killed during alleged attacks against Israelis.
The trio said they had attended that meeting to discuss the repatriation of the suspected assailants’ bodies to their families.
In order to start the procedures, 70 lawmakers must approve, including at least 10 members of the opposition.
Arab Israelis are the descendants of Palestinians who remained after the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, and make up about 17.5 percent of Israel’s eight million population.
“There is no doubt that this law is meant to expel Arab Knesset members who “dare” to stray beyond the boundaries dictated to them by the Israeli Jewish majority, thus silencing the voice of the Palestinian Arab public”.
Hanin Zoabi joined the Knesset and is part of an alliance of Arab political members referred to as, the Joint List which holds 13 Parliament seats.
The new law comes just one week after Israel adopted legislation requiring NGOs that receive more than half their funding from overseas to provide details of their donations – a move that was criticized by the European Union, which said it risked undermining democracy and free speech.
Still, State Department spokesman John Kirby spoke of the “chilling effect” the new law could have, while the European Union said the legislation “risks undermining” values it shares with Israel, such as its “vibrant democracy, freedom of speech, and its diverse civil society”.
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Those who are expelled can appeal to the supreme court. Critics say the law is mostly aimed at Arab legislators.
