Ein aktueller Fall politischer Repression: Die ehemalige Knesset-Abgeordnete Hanin Zoabi wurde am Sonntag in Nazareth festgenommen – wegen eines Vortrags, den sie bereits Ende 2024 auf dem Palästina Kongress in Wien gehalten hatte.
Zoabi hatte dort betont, dass man zwischen Hamas und dem palästinensischen Volk nicht trennen könne, und erinnerte daran, dass jene, die am 7. Oktober die Grenze überschritten, nicht in den Staat Israel eindrangen, sondern in ihr eigenes, besetztes Land.
Diese Aussagen wurden nun – Monate später – als „Terrorverherrlichung“ kriminalisiert. Die Polizei wirft ihr vor, mit ihrem Auftritt zur Gewalt aufgerufen zu haben. Offenbar werden in Israel Fälle gezielt auf Eis gelegt, um sie dann strategisch hervorzuholen, wenn es politisch opportun ist. Besonders betroffen: PalästinenserInnen die es wagen, die Wahrheit auszusprechen.
Besonders deutlich zeigt sich die politische Repression darin, dass die israelische Polizei Hanin Zoabi in den frühen Morgenstunden in ihrem Haus festgenommen hat – anstatt sie auf legalem Wege zu einer Anhörung vorzuladen. Dieses Vorgehen steht exemplarisch für den gezielten Versuch, palästinensische Stimmen mundtot zu machen.
Der Umgang mit Hanin Zoabi ist kein Einzelfall, sondern Teil einer breiteren Strategie der „einzigen Demokratie“ im Nahen Osten: palästinensische Stimmen sollen systematisch zum Schweigen gebracht werden, wenn sie den Genozid beim Namen nennen. Das, so Hanin, ist der eigentliche Grund ihrer Festnahme. Nicht wegen ihren konkreten Aussagen beim Palästina Kongress in Wien, sondern ihr offenes Eintreten gegen den Genozid.
Zwar ist der letzte Stand (21. 9.), dass Hanin aus der Haft entlassen wurde, wir werden ihren Fall jedoch weiterhin aufmerksam verfolgen und alles tun, um Hanin politisch zu unterstützen. Wir haben bereits Kontakt zu ihrem Anwalt aufgenommen und Amnesty International gebeten, sich weiterhin für ihre Sicherheit und Rechte einzusetzen.
Hier der Link zu dem Insta-Account von Yoseph Haddad mit dem betreffenden Ausschnitt Hanen’s Rede.
Hier ein kurzes Polizeivideo über Hanin’s Verhaftung am 21.9.2025:
Hier der Link zu einem Artikel von Haaretz auf Hebräisch.
Hier die Übersetzung des Artikels von Haaretz von Hebräisch auf Englisch (computerübersetzt, nicht überprüft):
Police Arrest Hanin Zoabi on Suspicion of Incitement to Terrorism, Due to a Speech She Delivered Abroad
Police raided the home of the former Knesset member this morning and brought her in for questioning. This follows statements she made at a conference in Vienna, where she said that “it is impossible to distinguish between Hamas and the Palestinian people,” and emphasized that “those who entered the land on October 7 did not enter the borders of Israel, but rather their own land.”
The police also attribute to her support for the firing of rockets at Israel.
Jack Khoury and Joshua (Josh) Brainer
08:34 • September 21, 2025
This morning (Sunday), the police arrested former Knesset member Hanin Zoabi on suspicion of incitement to terrorism. Police officers arrived at Zoabi’s home in Nazareth and took her in for questioning at the Tiberias police station. According to the police, the arrest is in response to a speech she gave at an anti-Israel conference abroad, in which she allegedly expressed solidarity with a terrorist organization and incited terrorism.
The conference where Zoabi delivered the speech took place at the end of last year in Vienna. In her speech, the former MK said:
“It is impossible to distinguish between Hamas and the Palestinian people,”
and emphasized:
“Those who entered the land on October 7 did not enter the borders of Israel, but rather their own land.”
In the past, Zoabi has allegedly expressed support for rocket fire toward Israel.
In November 2023, about a month after the war in Gaza began, Zoabi was arrested along with former Knesset members from her party Balad – Mtanes Shehadeh and Sami Abu Shehadeh – as well as Mohammad Barakeh, the chairperson of the Arab Follow-Up Committee. The four were arrested on suspicion of attempting to organize a demonstration in Nazareth against the war. At the time, the police claimed that such a demonstration “could lead to incitement and a breach of public order.”
Back in 2014, while serving as a Knesset member, Zoabi was investigated by the police on suspicion of incitement to terrorism, after calling Arab police officers “traitors.” As part of a plea bargain signed in 2016, she was ultimately charged with insulting a public servant, and the Nazareth court sentenced her to six months probation and a fine of 3,000 shekels.
Attorney Hassan Jabareen, representing Zoabi on behalf of the Adalah organization, stated that the former Knesset member does not know why she was detained for questioning. Jabareen called the detention “illegal” and claimed that the police could have summoned Zoabi for questioning instead of arresting her. According to him, the case concerns old public statements, not from recent weeks. “This is a public relations stunt by Ben Gvir and pressure he is exerting on the police,” he added.
The chairman of the Balad party, former Knesset member Sami Abu Shehadeh, said that Zoabi’s arrest is part of the ongoing political persecution of Arab citizens in Israel and their political leadership. According to him, since October 7th, „the police have been acting against any voice that opposes the annihilation, starvation, and war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.“ He claimed that the police are acting as the executive arm of Ben Gvir and his policy of terror and silencing. „His policy will not deter Balad from continuing the struggle for justice for Palestinians and Israelis,“ he added.
The Hadash party also condemned Zoabi’s arrest, calling it a political arrest carried out on the orders of Ben Gvir. According to the party, the accusations against her are false charges intended to intimidate Arab citizens and harm their right to political activity. The party noted that the current government includes members previously convicted of supporting terrorism, and therefore „Zoabi’s arrest is solely aimed at silencing those who oppose the occupation and Israel’s war of extermination in Gaza.“
