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Hawkish Israeli minister urges boycott of Arab parties

Xinhua, March 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israeli Foreign Minister and hawkish politician Avigdor Lieberman called on Tuesday for boycotting a group of Arab parties in Israel's politics.

Members of the Joint Arab List "try to slander the state of Israel and undermine its foundations," Lieberman, chairman of the Israel Beytenu party, which is set to be part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming coalition, told Army Radio.

The List, which won 13 out of 120 seats of the parliament in last week's elections, is a joint roster of nationalist, communist and Islamist Arab parties that unified in January amid the raise in the electoral threshold.

Lieberman's statements came a day after Netanyahu apologized to Arab Israelis for comments he made last week that offended members of the Arab community.

Netanyahu urged right-wing voters on Election Day to head to the polls and vote, warning that Arab Israelis are being "bussed in droves" by left-wing organizations, which he claimed were financed by foreign organizations, in order to topple his government.

Lieberman is known for his harsh statements against Arab Israelis. He had in the past called Arab parliament members a fifth column and offered to transfer Arab Israeli citizens to the territories of a future Palestinian state.

"I know that what I said a few days ago offended some of Israel's citizens, Israeli Arabs. I had no intention in doing so, I'm sorry for this," Netanyahu said on Monday.

Arab politicians were not impressed by Netanyahu's apology. Leader of the Joint List, Aymen Odeh, wrote on his Facebook page that Netanyahu's apology is "deceitful."

"As long as Netanyahu promotes racist legislation and does not promote real equality, his apology is not accepted or credible in any way," Odeh said.

Members of the Arab List approached Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein last week, following the controversial remarks, in order to prosecute Netanyahu over his statements.

Netanyahu's remarks drew harsh criticism from center-left Israeli politicians, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, as well as the White House, which scolded Netanyahu for his "devisive" rhetoric. Enditem