Israeli Arab MP Ayman Odeh justifies kidnapping Israeli civilians, just “not a 1-year-old baby” or “an 88-year-old woman”
Israeli Arab Parliament Member Ayman Odeh: "Regarding Oct. 7, one must distinguish between the Palestinian people's right to resist the occupation (i.e., commit terror against Israel) and the position that I express clearly: We as the Palestinian people- you must not kidnap a 1-year-old baby, you must not kidnap an 88-year-old woman… We find that Omar Al-Mukhtar (i.e., Libyan revolutionary) refused to kill an Italian captive. They told him: They kill our captives, and he said: But they are not a model for us. So, is this our position or not? This doesn't mean that our people doesn't have the right to resist the occupation. Certainly, we must resist the occupation, and the resistance is legitimate and must exist without a doubt, and without it the occupation will not end. The occupation won't end without resistance. But if you ask me, is part of the resistance kidnapping a 9-month-old baby? No, never. If someone will say to me: ‘But they [Israelis] are criminals' – certainly they are criminals, and they killed children. We degrade them to the dirt on this subject in the parliaments, without a doubt. They need to be judged for this. But our position should be that we do not kill a 9-month-old baby, or a 1-year-old as happened, or like the woman who was kidnapped at the age of 88. This is not part of my struggle."
[Official PA TV, Feb. 8, 2025]