Israeli lawmakers Merav Ben Ari of Yesh Atid and Boaz Bismuth of Likud took part on Tuesday in a heated video conference before the political committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is considering a proposal to expel Israel from the organization. The initiative was submitted by about 20 parliamentarians from the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey and other countries.
The backers of the proposal cited the humanitarian situation in Gaza, what they described as Israel’s failure to comply with international humanitarian law, and broader human rights violations. They also pointed to Israel’s recently approved death penalty law for terrorists as another reason for exclusion.
During the debate, European lawmakers leveled severe accusations at Israel, calling it an
