Religious Zionism Party head Bezalel Smotrich is up in arms over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's perceived plans to establish a coalition government that relies on the support of the Islamist Ra'am political party.
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Smotrich took to social media, Friday, to make clear he would refuse to be a part of "any government that relies on terror supporters" following a speech Ra'am head Mansour Abbas gave, Thursday, in which he called for coexistence and equal rights for Israel's Arab citizens.
"Abbas was and remains a supporter of terrorism who makes pilgrimages to embrace those who murdered Jews, does not accept the Jews' right to exist as a people in their country in the Jewish state, and continues to adhere to the Palestinian narrative that simply contradicts the Jewish one," Smotrich wrote.
He said, "This is how he and his party have behaved for years, and I don't buy this new image he is trying to construct for himself in one minute that is only due to fleeting political interests due to his difficult rivalry with the Joint Arab List. Even in his sweet speech yesterday, Abbas did not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, demanded the recognition of 'both narratives,' and is in fact trying with the familiar Arab system of stages to make Israel a binational state."
According to Smotrich, "Abbas' desire to now connect to Netanyahu is temporary and stems from his difficult rivalry with the Joint Arab List. In the future, the Arabs, who will become legitimate partners thanks to the Right, will almost certainly connect to the Left …. Connecting the Arabs to the Jewish Left will bring about a left-wing government for decades. Such a leftist-Arab regime would cause irreversible damage to the Jewish state and could, God forbid, make it a state of all its citizens and even all its nations."
He concluded that "a government based on Abbas may maintain Netanyahu's rule but it will most certainly not be a right-wing government."
Religious Zionism Party members told Israel Hayom earlier that they were particularly furious at what they called "Netanyahu's total moral disintegration." They accused the prime minister of attempting to trick the public by "laying the ground for moves that until recently would have been unthinkable just to ensure he stays in power."
New Hope officials pointed out that one year ago, party members Yoaz Hendel and Zvi Hauser, then-members of Benny Gantz's Blue and White party, prevented the former IDF general from establishing a coalition government that relied on the Joint Arab List's support.
"Who can make any claims about [Yamina party head Naftali] Bennett, Sa'ar, or Hauser and Hendel should they join a government that leans on the Joint Arab List?" New Hope officials said.
They said, "The Haredim also support bringing in Abbas, meaning that from Netanyahu's and his partners' perspective,' a government with Arab parties has received a kosher stamp of approval."
Abbas held a press conference, Thursday, after meeting with various party heads in recent days. In his remarks, he said he was praying "for the uncompromising pursuit of hope and coexistence based on mutual respect and real equality.
"I am a proud Arab and a member of the Islamic Movement, a citizen of Israel, and the head of the most important political movement in the Arab sector, and I extend my hand, on behalf of my friends in the Arab community that elected us, to create an opportunity for coexistence in the land that is holy to the three faiths." He emphasized that his party "disavows any form of violence."
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch of the Likud party said he was happy to hear Abbas' remarks.
"I've said many times that the Joint Arab list doesn't represent Arab Israeli citizens that want to live in peace and with equal rights in the State of Israel. A Jewish and democratic state. Today, we saw that this voice has representation in the Knesset."
Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of the radical Otzma Yehudit party, said, "Abbas' speech tries to present someone who belongs to the Islamic movement, a Hamas supporter who sanctifies baby killers as a 'cuddly teddy bear.' A coalition that relies on Abbas will be the end of the Right, and we don't have the mandate to do so.
Ben-Gvir called on "all our partners on the Right to establish a right-wing government together and without relying on the Hamas-supporting Islamist movement."
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