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Terror-supporting Arab MK ‘taking a step back’ from politics

Ayman Odeh has repeatedly made incendiary remarks demonizing Israel, including refusing to swear allegiance to the State of Israel when taking office.

By World Israel News Staff

The chairman of the influential Arab Joint List party announced on Tuesday that while he will remain in the Knesset until the next election, he is retiring from national politics.

Ayman Odeh, head of the Hadash-Ta’al party and the founding force behind the Joint List – which united four Arab-Israeli parties and saw them gain a record 15 seats in the Knesset in 2020 – posted on social media that he is “taking a step back” from the political scene.

A source close to Odeh told Maariv that the longtime party leader was retiring because “he wants to bring in new blood and refresh the political landscape.”

Referencing the Arab Ra’am party’s split from the Joint List and the Balad party’s failure to cross the electoral threshold in the November 2022 national election, the source added that Odeh “understands that there is currently no possibility of uniting the Arab parties… so he is taking action and making room [for new people].”

Some political analysts have speculated that Odeh is not planning on staying away from local politics and may run for mayor in his native Haifa.

“We didn’t know about it beforehand… We were in the national headquarters on Saturday, and it never came up,” former Hadash MK Issam Makhoul told Walla News. “It should have been mentioned if thoughts like that were in the air.”

Odeh did not provide a reason for the decision, simply thanking his constituents for their support in a statement and stating that he would continue to work towards “building unity” between Arabs and Jews.

While Odeh’s retirement statement referenced his supposed efforts towards peace, he has been investigated for incitement to terror during his term. Odeh has repeatedly made incendiary remarks demonizing Israel, including refusing to swear allegiance to the State of Israel when taking office.

In October 2021, Odeh attacked now-National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a hospital corridor, outside of a room where a hunger-striking terrorist was receiving medical care.

Video showed that Odeh was clearly the aggressor in the incident, yet a police investigation into the fight was eventually closed.