The Israeli parliament meanwhile has approved an unprecedented crackdown on an Arab-Israeli lawmaker who took part in the Gaza-bound aid flotilla assaulted by Israeli forces earlier this year. The lawmaker, Hanin Zoabi, was aboard the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the flotilla where Israeli troops killed nine passengers. On Tuesday, the Israeli parliament voted to remove Zoabi’s diplomatic passport and bar her from foreign travel. Zoabi defended herself in a speech from the Knesset floor.

Hanin Zoabi: “You don’t need to protect democracy from me. You need to defend me for the sake of democracy. You are punishing me to get revenge on me, and that is what should be stopped. I did not join the flotilla in order to place a siege on Tel Aviv. I sailed, and nine people were killed, because they fought for the freedom of Gaza.”