Knesset Speaker MK Yariv Levin announced on Sunday that the Knesset Officer has decided to suspend Zaatry until further notice.
The unusual incident took place on Thursday, the final date for political parties to submit their list of candidates to the Knesset ahead of the upcoming election on March 23.
A video of the incident shows Ben-Gvir making his way toward the exit while speaking on the phone, as Zaatry approaches him in an intimidating manner. While the confrontation did not escalate any further, with Zaatry backing up immediately after, the attack was considered an anomaly.
Ben-Gvir later shared the video to his Twitter page and wrote: "They are A-F-R-A-I-D."הם מ-פ-ח-ד-י-ם! https://t.co/BZzmqoDwlQ
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) February 4, 2021
The Israel Police has reportedly called Zaatry in for questioning at the Moriah police station in Jerusalem.
"As soon as I was made aware of the incident, I asked Knesset Officer, Superintendent Yosef Griff, to act as soon as possible to investigate the case and to send me his findings and recommendations," Levin wrote to Shai Glick, CEO of Betzalmo, a human rights NGO, who had originally made the complaint. "I will add that in light of the severity of the incident, the Knesset Officer decided that until the investigation is completed, Zaatry will not be allowed into the Knesset," Levin added.
Ben-Gvir congratulated the decision and said that the new coalition "will make sure that it is not only Zaatry who is denied access to the Knesset, but all fans and terrorism enthusiasts from the Joint List as well."
Zaatry called Ben-Gvir a racist and blamed him for promoting racist incitement toward Israel's Arab population.
"After his boss, Netanyahu, started hugging Arabs to gather votes, the Kahanist Ben-Gvir is outsourcing racism toward Arab citizens. Our, and the Democratic forces' answer to these racists will be made clear on the election day," Zaatry said.