Seven Incoming Knesset Members Linked to Calls for Expulsion, Starvation, and Collective Punishment

Provisional election results indicate that seven candidates on the path to entering the Israeli parliament have public records of advocating for collective punishment, expulsion, and blockade against Palestinians. These politicians represent various parties, including Jewish Power, Religious Zionism, Zehut, Together, Yisrael Beiteinu, and Yashar. Their past statements and actions have drawn scrutiny from international observers and local activists.

Hanamel Dorfman of Jewish Power, formerly the chief of staff for Ben Gvir, comes from the settler movement. Haaretz reported that at age 17, Dorfman stated at a protest in Tel Aviv that the only problem with the Nazis was that he was on the losing side. Footage from his 2013 wedding shows him holding knives while dancing to songs calling for attacks on Palestinians. Yitzhak Wasserlauf, also of Jewish Power, cited Psalm 137 in a recorded message to soldiers entering Gaza. The biblical passage includes references to seizing infants and smashing them against rocks.

Tzvika Mor of Religious Zionism, Zehut, a settler from Kiryat Arba, demanded specific economic sanctions in an October radio interview. He called for cutting electricity and water to Palestinian villages resisting occupation, while also advocating for the expulsion of families and confiscation of their property. Itamar Eitam of the same party, a reserve lieutenant colonel, rejected the distinction between fighters and civilians in Gaza. In a July 2024 interview, he described Palestinians as evil and dismissed the notion that they sought peaceful lives and education for their children.

Yonatan Shalev of the Together party, a combat reservist who served in Gaza, defended the denial of Palestinian statehood. Telling The Jerusalem Post, he argued that the government would not pass Israeli territory to anyone. Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beiteinu participated in blocking aid trucks bound for Gaza on October 22. She used the blockade for election campaigning, accusing the Netanyahu government of feeding Palestinians rather than starving them.

Matan Kahana of Yashar stated in June 2022 that he would press a button to remove Arabs and send them to Switzerland. The remark referred to Arabs generally rather than just Palestinians in Gaza. Merav Ben-Ari of the Together party faced criticism during an October 2023 parliamentary debate. She blamed Palestinian children for their suffering and rejected comparisons to Israeli children killed. A subsequent United Nations inquiry cited her remarks in its review of rhetoric targeting children in Gaza.