MK Avichay Buaron (Likud) on Tuesday expressed strong disappointment with both the opposition and parts of the coalition for failing to support the initiative to remove MK Ayman Odeh of the Joint List from the Knesset, calling it a moral test that Zionist parties failed.
"Despite all their declarations - Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, and others promised to back the move to oust Odeh - none of them showed up. National Unity had zero presence. From Yesh Atid, only two or three MKs attended," Buaron told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News.
Buaron stressed that this was not a procedural or political matter, but a basic moral issue. "These are Zionist parties whose members send their sons to serve in the IDF. And while we’re receiving reports of three soldiers killed in Gaza, someone stands at the Knesset podium and declares, 'Gaza will win.' Win against whom? Against our soldiers. In the same breath, he presents himself as a ‘white dove’ seeking peace - but in reality, he supports and encourages terror through his words."
He rejected claims that this falls under freedom of expression. "When an MK says he has no issue with harming IDF soldiers, that is not a personal opinion - it’s thinly veiled incitement. This is not democracy. It’s incitement."
Buaron also pointed to Odeh’s statements following the October 7 massacre, in which he allegedly described the attack as a reaction by an "occupied people." "He doesn’t merely legitimize terror - he clearly supports it, not subtly but outright. When you call on Israeli Arabs to throw their weapons in their commanders’ faces, that’s not protected speech. That is severe incitement."
Buaron also criticized Agudat Yisrael for failing to support Odeh’s removal, calling it a “moral and coalition-level failure.” He warned, "If every party chooses to be absent when an issue doesn’t directly concern them, tomorrow the same thing will happen in reverse. That’s not a coalition - it’s chaos."
On the Draft Law, Buaron addressed recent criticism from haredi parties and clarified Likud’s stance: "The entire Likud - except for one voice - supports balanced legislation that upholds the value of Torah study while ensuring those who do not study are drafted. Even among the haredim, there is an understanding that the reality has changed. Those who do not learn must enlist."
Buaron concluded by urging MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, to lead the legislative effort with resolve. "This government must stand firm until the fighting ends and the hostages return home. There’s no room to abandon the campaign over political disagreements. But removing a supporter of terror from the Knesset is not a ‘political dispute’ - it’s a moral imperative and the call of the hour."
