Avigdor Liberman
Avigdor LibermanYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Joint List party, on Thursday contacted Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and demanded he open an investigation against Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on suspicion of incitement to violence after he called MK Hanin Zoabi "a terrorist".

"Yesterday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman published a post on his Facebook page with these words: 'IDF soldiers will continue to fight against terrorists in the sea, air and land - and that includes MKs who travel at sea and are Knesset members,'” Odeh wrote in his letter.

“The above call,” he claimed, “is incitement to violence, which is prohibited by law and carries with it a penalty prescribed by law. There is a real threat that there will be someone who will see these words as instructions and act to hurt MK Hanin Zoabi in accordance with the words of the Defense Minister.”

Odeh further argued that "the Defense Minister is known for his statements inciting violence against the Arab population and against the Arab's public representatives. Before the last elections, during a conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, he was quoted as answering a question which related to Arab citizens of Israel and saying that 'anyone who is against us, there is nothing to do other than pick up an ax and take down his head.'”

“Mr. Liberman's constant statements calling to use violence against Arab citizens constitute an immediate and real threat once he was appointed Defense Minister,” said Odeh.

Liberman's post on Wednesday came after Zoabi caused an uproar in the Knesset by claiming during a discussion on Israel's reconciliation agreement with Turkey that IDF soldiers “murdered” the Islamists on the Mavi Marmara during the 2010 flotilla.

Following Wednesday's incident, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Mandelblit regarding the possible expulsion of Zoabi from the Knesset, saying her actions “crossed the line and she has no place in the Knesset.”