OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s elections committee Thursday voted to disqualify a contentious Arab lawmaker from running in the country’s March 17 parliamentary elections.

Lawmaker Hanin Zoabi is known for her feisty and abrasive style in parliament. She supports the Palestinians side in the conflict with Israel, prompting some Israelis to brand her a traitor.

Israeli media say Thursday’s committee vote passed by a majority. The decision could still be overturned by the Supreme Court, which has happened in the past.

Zoabi said she wasn’t surprised by the vote, which she called “unjust” and “racist” and said she plans to appeal the decision.

Zoabi has a long history of angering mainstream Israelis. She boycotted the playing of the national anthem when she was sworn into Israel’s parliament and often refers to the country as “racist.”

Active in Palestinian causes, she participated in a 2010 pro-Palestinian flotilla that tried to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

After Thursday’s vote, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement that Zoabi belongs with “Hamas terrorists in Gaza.” The same committee later disqualified a hawkish Israeli activist, Baruch Marzel, from running on grounds of incitement, Israeli media reported.