MK Hanin Zoabi at Gordon College of Education
MK Hanin Zoabi at Gordon College of EducationGordon College of Education

A cousin of Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) has signed a petition calling to disqualify her candidacy for the next Knesset, the Yisrael Hayom newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the report, the cousin, Abu-Daud Zoabi, joined the some 15,000 signatories who have already signed the petition, which was initiated by MK Danny Danon (Likud).

The cousin did not stop at signing the petition, adding, “She does not represent us and acts against the state of Israel from within the Knesset. I don't understand how they let her do it."

Abu-Daud Zoabi also said of his cousin, "She goes against the state and represents the Palestinians in Ramallah - so she should move there."

MK Zoabi took part in the 2010 attempt to violate Israel’s naval blockade of Hamas. Zoabi was aboard the ship Mavi Marmara, where IDF soldiers who boarded were violently attacked. A video clip indicates that she knew of the planned attack in advance.

Zoabi was later caught rubbing elbows with senior Hamas terrorists. She has also been criticized for anti-Israel speeches, such as one saying that Israel has “no right to a normal life” and a more recent address claiming that “the Israeli occupation” was behind the murder of Israelis in Bulgaria.

When submitting the petition against her candidacy, Danon charged that "Zoabi used her [parliamentary] immunity in order to support a terror action that attempted to kill IDF soldiers. A person like that has no place in the Knesset. She belongs in jail."

MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) also submitted last week a request to the Central Elections Committee, asking to disqualify Zoabi.

Akunis cited section seven of the Knesset Basic Law, which states that “a list of candidates will not participate in the elections and there shall not be a candidate in elections to the Knesset, if the goals or actions of the list or the actions of the person support the armed struggle of an enemy state or of a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.”

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)