Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to incite against Arab members of the Knesset, as several leaders of the Joint List have filed complaints with Knesset guards and police after receiving death threats.
However, Netanyahu was not deterred especially that he is trying his best to prevent the formation of a government led by Benny Gantz and supported by the Arab MKs.
Incitement amounted to the extent that Netanyahu said once such a government was established, it “will be celebrated in Tehran, Ramallah, in Gaza.”
Netanyahu said during four consecutive meetings that his statements are not directed at Arab citizens, but the deputies who call for the destruction of Israel and cooperate with its enemies against the Israeli army.
On Sunday evening, Netanyahu’s Likud party organized an “emergency rally” aimed at “stopping the dangerous minority government that is reliant on terror supporters.”
Speaking about Gantz, Netanyahu said he held coalition talks “with those same MKs who support terror organizations and want to destroy the country.”
The Joint List issued a statement condemning Netanyahu's vicious campaign against the Arab masses and their leaders and considered it an attempt to try and maintain his fragile position.
In recent days Netanyahu has crossed every line with his dangerous and wild incitement, said the statement, adding that the PM is spreading lies and claiming the Knesset members are terror supporters.
“The Arab community and its representatives are legitimate like every community,” the party says in a statement.
“We appeal to President Reuven Rivlin and the attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, to take a stance against incitement, which has led to dozens of death threats against our members,” the statement adds.
A number of Arab MKs and members of the Joint List had received death threats, including leader Ayman Odeh and the head of its parliamentary bloc, Ahmed Tibi.
Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) issued a statement responding to Netanyahu saying he doesn’t care about Israel’s security, adding that residents in the south did not have an “emergency rally”, asserting that as usual, the PM only cares about himself.
Talking after a Kahol Lavan meeting in the Knesset, Gantz called on Netanyahu over his recent comments about the members of the common list: “I, too, have disagreements with members of the Joint List. I agree with them on some things and absolutely disagree on others. But the kind of lashing out we saw for the last two days has got to stop. You must, Netanyahu, recant immediately.”
