Lawmaker suspended over Olmert threat

A right-wing Israeli lawmaker was suspended briefly from parliament for suggesting capital punishment for Ehud Olmert.

The Knesset Ethics Committee on Tuesday ordered a one-day suspension for Aryeh Eldad in response to his statement last month that any ceding of land by the government to the Arabs would be tantamount to treason and thus could warrant the prime minister’s execution.

Eldad, a member of the National Union bloc, said at the time he was only invoking Israeli law. He was
condemned across the political spectrum.

Eldad called the penalty he received his “most important day as a member of Knesset.”