Arab lawmakers leave the Knesset chamber during the playing of Israel’s national anthem;

During the swearing-in ceremony for the 26th Knesset (Israel’s parliament), most representatives of Arab parties, as soon as Israel’s national anthem “Hatikva” began to play, left the chamber so they would not be forced to stand in a gesture of respect for the anthem.

According to reports by Israeli media, the move was met with strong backlash and chants by lawmakers from right-wing parties, including Itamar Ben-Gvir.

However, Mansour Abbas, the leader of the “United Arab List” (Ra’am) party, along with one of the lawmakers from the “Democratic Front for Peace” (Hadash) party, remained in the chamber.