Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave Tuesday a surprising interview with Israel's most popular news website in Arabic, PANET, vowing that no Arab citizen would be forcefully transferred to a Palestinian state amid the unveiling of The Trump administration's Mideast peace plan.
"The transfer idea needs to be erased. There isn't and there won't be any transfer, not one – Arab or Jew – will be uprooted from his home. I oppose that ideologically and practically," Netanyahu said.
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With less than two weeks before Israeli citizens cast their ballots for the third time in a row, the Israeli premier said he hopes Israeli Arabs will vote for his Likud party come March 2.
He spoke of internal polls conducted by the Likud that show the right-wing bloc receiving 58 parliament seats, were elections held today.
"We are missing three more [seats] for victory," Netanyahu said, referring to the 61-MK majority that would guarantee his forming a coalition.
"I will be very happy if I actually get them from the Arab citizens – do you know why? Because I really believe in that, because we are working for all and we're the only ones who've done it in infrastructure and welfare," the veteran politician added.
In response to the prime minister's comments, Joint Arab List leader MK Ayman Odeh said that "only a true racist like Netanyahu can think the Arab citizens are foolish enough to forget that only two months ago he wrote we want to annihilate children and women.
"Two interviews will not cover for a decade of incitement and fanning of hatred," Odeh said.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS
