Israeli extremist views against Arabs are on the rise ahead of the March 23 elections, revealed a poll on Monday.
The survey by Tel Aviv-based 103FM Radio showed that one quarter of Israelis support the appointment of Otzma Yehudit party member Itamar Ben Gvir as a minister in the upcoming cabinet.
Ben Gvir is notorious for his demand to put an end to Arab presence in Israel and his dream to build a Jewish temple to replace the Dome of the Rock Mosque at the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem.
Asked whether Ben Gvir should be named minister, 25% of respondents said yes and 46% opposed the notion.
Asked whether they approve of the Joint Arab List becoming part of the coalition in the event the government is formed by the center-left bloc, 21% supported the idea and 64% opposed it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed claims he was seeking to name Ben Gvir in a new government. Sources close to Ben Gvir confirmed that he had indeed received a pledge from the PM.
The survey results reflect a major shift towards extremism in Israel.
Ben Gvir, for example, used to be shunned on the political scene, even among Jews, due to his extremist views.
Some 50 charges, including eight criminal ones, have been brought against him throughout his political career. He has also been involved in riots, racial incitement and supporting a terrorist organization.
At one point, Ben Gvir had boasted that he had hung a large portrait of Baruch Goldstein in his house. Goldstein in 1994 murdered 45 Palestinian Muslim worshipers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
The poll projected that the Likud party would win 29 Knesset seats, followed by Yesh Atid (18), New Hope (14), Yamina (13), the Joint Arab List (9), Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas (8), Ashkenazi Haredi party United Torah Judaism (7), Yisrael Beytenu (7), Labor (6), the Religious Zionist Party (5), and Meretz (4).
