According to a report by The Times Of Israel, former Israeli lawmaker Hanin Zoabi was arrested on Monday morning over allegations of incitement to terror, with investigators linking her detention to a speech she gave in Vienna, Austria, earlier this month.
According to Hebrew-language media, authorities cited remarks delivered at the Palästina Kongress in early October 2024 as the trigger for the arrest. A video of her address has circulated online, in which she appears to defend the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel while voicing support for the militant group responsible. That attack left more Jews dead in a single day than at any time since the Holocaust.
In the recording, Zoabi tells the audience: “It is not Hamas who is resisting, it isn’t the Palestinian people, you cannot differentiate between Hamas and the Palestinian people. Don’t tell me about October 7.”
She goes further, drawing a link between Gaza residents and the history of displacement following Israel’s creation. “On October 7, they didn’t enter Israeli borders, they entered their own land,” she says, prompting applause from the crowd.
Zoabi’s comments also extended beyond the conflict itself. She spoke about shifting European political perspectives, urging reduced support for Israel that she claimed was rooted in Holocaust guilt. Additionally, she stressed the value of engaging anti-Zionist Jews in broader campaigns opposing Israel.
The arrest marks a dramatic development in Zoabi’s controversial political career. A former member of the Knesset with the Balad party, she was often a polarizing figure, repeatedly criticized for outspoken statements regarding Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. Her latest remarks, however, crossed into what authorities allege amounts to direct incitement.
Officials have not yet confirmed what legal measures may follow, but the case underscores Israel’s heightened sensitivity to rhetoric surrounding October 7 and its aftermath. Zoabi’s speech, delivered on foreign soil but addressed to an international audience, now places her at the center of a legal and political storm over the boundaries between political expression and incitement. See, More, Here>>>>
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