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Israeli Voices Against Gaza War: Ofer Cassif -2

Now that a ceasefire has taken effect in Gaza, the world breathes a sigh of relief that the devastating fighting between Israel and Hamas will come to an end, alleviating the suffering of 2.1 million Palestinians in the Strip.

Although most Members of Knesset (MKs) were supportive of the Israeli war on Gaza, some spoke out against the war, criticizing Israel’s conduct of war and the inhumane crimes against the Palestinians.

Two of the most prominent MK critics of the war are Gilad Kariv and Ofer Cassif, who have stood out against Benjamin Netanyahu government’s policies and expressed harsh criticism of the Gaza war.

Who is Ofer Cassif?

Born in Tel Aviv in 1964, Ofer Cassif is an Israeli left-wing politician and has been a member of the Knesset for nearly five years, representing the Arab-majority Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash Party).

Cassif is an anti-Zionist and anti-war activist, known for pro-Palestinian positions. In the late 1980s, Cassif faced prison for refusing military service in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli Voices Against Gaza War: Ofer Cassif -2
Ofer Cassif

In 2019, he was disqualified from running in the parliamentary election on allegations he supported terror against Israel, according to the National.

In 2021, he was filmed while being assaulted by the Israeli police during his participation in a protest against an illegal Jewish settlement in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem.

Supporting ICJ Genocide Case

Ofer Cassif signed a petition supporting South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and accused Israeli leaders of advocating crimes against humanity against the Palestinians.

“My constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all its residents, not to a government whose members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide,” he posted on X in January 2024.

Paying the Price

In response to his position regarding the genocide case, Ofer Cassif was expelled from the Israeli Knesset for six months for speaking out against Israeli crimes in Gaza, in one of the most severe sanctions imposed by the committee in recent years.

In November 2024, the Knesset Ethics Committee voted to suspend Cassif from the Knesset, banning him from participating in plenary and committee meetings until May 2025 and withholding his pay for two weeks, according to the Times of Israel.

No Backing Down

After the suspension decision, Cassif wrote on X: “I will not be silenced by this outrageous decision! I will never stay silent on war crimes, famine and the slaughter in Gaza.”

He also said in a statement that this decision was a continuation of “the political persecution of opponents of the war and critics of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s bloody rule.”

Israeli Voices Against Gaza War: Ofer Cassif -2
Ofer Cassif

Furthermore, he expressed support for the two-state solution. “I will not be silent and will continue to fight for the end of the war, the return of the hostages, the end of the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel — for peace, equality, and justice for both nations,” he noted.

Gaza’s Humanitarian Suffering

Since the war broke out in October 2023, more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have lost their lives due to the Israeli aggression and more than 111,000 have been wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Moreover, 1.9 million people (90% of Gaza’s population) have been displaced, according to UN figures. Children, in particular, have borne the brunt of the war, with at least 14,500 children killed and thousands more injured, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell.

In a preliminary debris quantification assessment, the UN-Habitat and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) estimated that the debris resulted from the war in the Gaza Strip amounted to 50,773,496 tons by 1 December 2024.

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