The Knesset Ethics Committee has decided Monday, May 25, that Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Nissim Vaturi (Likud) did not violate any ethical rules considering his comments in an interview with Knesset Channel in December 2023, in which he called “burn Gaza.” The committee rejected Hadash MK Ofer Cassif’s complaint regarding the comments, stating: “The committee examined the statements and believes that they are of a political nature and clearly reflect the ideology of the Knesset member.” 

Likud MK Nissim Vaturi and supporters of former Israeli police border officer Orian Ben Khalifa, accused of assaulting a Palestinian woman in Jerusalem Old City, protest outside her court hearing in Jerusalem, on May 2, 2023 (Photo: Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)

“The committee believes that his statement does not add respect to the Knesset as an institution, particularly in light of his tenure as deputy speaker of the Knesset, but due to the importance of protecting freedom of expression, there is no reason to determine that he violated the rules of ethics,” the committee decided.

Vaturi, who is a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party, described on last year, Palestinians as “scumbags and subhumans,” spreading the lie that “Nobody in the world wants Gaza’s civilians. They are all pushing them toward Israel.” His incitement went further, threatening the occupied West Bank city of Jenin with complete destruction like Gaza, saying, “We’ll soon turn Jenin into Gaza.” “Don’t bother searching for terrorists. If one is in a house, bring the house down.”

On past November, the Knesset’s Ethics Committee decided Monday, to remove Cassif, a leading member of the Communist Party of Israel, from plenary meetings and Knesset committee meetings for a period of six months. The committee also decided that his salary will be suspended for two weeks during the period of his suspension. The punishments come after Cassif accused the Israeli army of war crimes including genocide. “My political statements against the occupation, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and genocide committed by the Israeli government in Gaza – witnessed by the entire world – are well-founded statements protected under the freedom of political expression,” Cassif says in a statement.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32235