Hanin Zoabi
Hanin ZoabiFlash 90

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) on Wednesday was reprimanded by the Knesset's Ethics Committee for calling MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint Arab List) a 'terrorist."

The reprimand comes after Zoabi complained about a June tweet in which Liberman wrote, "Terrorist Hanin Zoabi is in the Knesset and advancing terror against IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens, because MKs from the Zionist Union, Yesh Atid and the haredi parties refuse to sign MK Oded Forer's (YIsrael Beytenu) bill to lawfully remove her."

In response, Zoabi requested the Ethics Committee "discuss the issue and issue a severe punishment, since [the offender] is a minister, and not just any minister but the Defense Minister. This will send a very clear and unambiguous message regarding the honor and immunity of a Knesset member."

She also claimed that by calling her a terrorist, Liberman "exposed her to a real threat."

Liberman for his part refused to apologize to Zoabi. In his response to the Ethics Committee he wrote, "At the end of the day, we're talking about a terrorist."

Last October, Zoabi declared that "Jews have no right to self-determination" and that Jews should leave the entire State of Israel.

In February 2017, Zoabi was booted from an Education Committee discussion after she called IDF soldiers "murderers." In March 2017, the Ethics Committee suspended Zoabi for one week as punishment for that statement.

She has also said she has a moral duty to defend terrorists who kidnap IDF civilians, and called for a mass intifada instead of "lone wolf" terror attacks.