President Trump’s address at Israel’s Knesset, the country’s parliament, was momentarily disrupted by lawmakers, who were removed from the assembly after interrupting Trump’s speech with slogans.
The demonstrators were identified by The Jerusalem Post as Ayman Odeh, an Arab Israeli affiliated with the Hadash alliance, and Ofer Cassif, a far-left politician also part of the Hadash coalition.
Odeh displayed a sign reading “Recognize Palestine” and was expelled from the chamber. He subsequently posted on the social platform X, advocating for the recognition of a Palestinian state as “the simplest demand, a demand that the entire international community agrees on… There are two peoples here, and neither is going anywhere,” his post stated in Hebrew, as translated by X.
Cassif similarly wrote on X that their demonstration was “to demand justice,” accusing the Israeli government of engaging in occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.
“Refuse to be occupiers! Resist the government of bloodshed!” read that post, also translated from Hebrew.
Though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned down recognizing a Palestinian state, he has endorsed Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which is intended to pave the way for a sovereign Palestine.
Still, Trump has not joined the majority of the international community in presently recognizing a state of Palestine.
The protest during Trump’s speech occurred while the president was commemorating the return to Israel of the last surviving hostages held by Hamas following their abduction during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
It marked a major milestone in the first phase of a deal to end the fighting in Gaza.
Updated at 8:03 a.m. EDT
