“It’s not a matter of parliamentary ethics, but of political censorship and persecution as well as terrorization (“chilling effect”) of the entire leftist camp, Arabs and Jews alike,” Cassif wrote in a response posted to X. “The real end behind this suspension is to thwart our faction from any parliamentary activity altogether, and, in the longer run, to eliminate any representation of the Arab and the democratic Jewish citizens. My repeated suspensions are merely the appetizer, as they were.”

Cassif was instead suspended by the Ethics Committee in November 2024 for six months due to critics against ethnic cleansing in Gaza and attempt to oust Cassif from his sea failed in the Knesset plenum in February 2024 due to insufficient support from the opposition, with only 85 MKs voting in favor, short of the required 90. That effort to remove Cassif from the parliament came in response to his public support for South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.