Eight incoming Knesset members have public records of advocating hardline measures against Palestinians
Provisional election results show the next parliament will include lawmakers who have previously called for sieges, expulsions, and collective punishment.
By Elena Greco ·
Provisional results for Israel's upcoming elections indicate that eight candidates will enter or return to the Knesset. All eight have public records of advocating punitive measures against Palestinians, including collective punishment, ethnic cleansing, and the siege of Gaza.
Hanamel Dorfman of the Jewish Power party comes from the extremist Jewish settler movement. Haaretz cited a 2013 protest where a 17-year-old Dorfman stated that the only issue with the Nazis was that he was on the losing side. Footage from his wedding that year shows him brandishing knives while dancing to songs calling for attacks on Palestinians.
Yitzhak Wasserlauf, also of Jewish Power, quoted Psalm 137 to motivate soldiers entering Gaza. Jewish News reported the recording includes his reference to seizing infants and smashing them against rocks.
Tzvika Mor of Religious Zionism, Zehut has promoted collective punishment as a settler in Kiryat Arba. In an October radio interview, he demanded electricity and water cut-offs for Palestinian villages resisting occupation. He also called for the expulsion of families and confiscation of their property.
Itamar Eitam, a reserve lieutenant colonel in the same party, rejected the distinction between fighters and civilians in Gaza. In a July 2024 interview, he described Palestinians as evil and dismissed the idea that they sought peaceful lives or education for their children.
Yonatan Shalev of the Together party served in Gaza during the recent conflict. He defended denying Palestinians statehood by telling The Jerusalem Post that Israel would not pass its territory to anyone. Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beiteinu joined activists blocking aid trucks in Gaza on October 22. She used the blockade for election campaigning, accusing the government of feeding Palestinians instead of starving them.
Matan Kahana of Yashar stated in June 2022 that he would press a button to remove Arabs and send them to Switzerland. Merav Ben-Ari of Together blamed Palestinian children for their suffering during an October 2023 parliamentary debate. A subsequent UN inquiry cited her remarks in its examination of rhetoric targeting children in Gaza.
Source: Middle East Eye
