Today, Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Israeli opposition, announced his opposition to sitting with Mansour Abbas, head of the United Arab List, claiming that he is anti-Jewish.
And the Hebrew channel “The 12”, this evening, Sunday, quoted Netanyahu as saying that he was shocked by the statements of David Amsalem, a member of his Likud party, in which he said that if the party wins 61 seats to form a government, Netanyahu will agree to the unified list joining the ruling coalition under Netanyahu’s leadership.
“The Ra’im [United Arab List] party is anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, and supports terrorism,” Netanyahu said.
יו"ר הליכוד @netanyahu על דברי ח"כ @dudiamsalem: "נדהמתי לשמוע את דבריו שאמר על דעתו בלבד – כפי שכבר קרה בעבר. רע״ם היא מפלגה אנטישמית אנטי-ציונית, תומכת טרור שמייצגת את האחים המוסלמים ששואפים להשמיד את ישראל. הליכוד בראשותי לא הסכים ולעולם לא יסכים להכניס את רע״ם לקואליציה"
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) June 26, 2022
Netanyahu was not satisfied with that, but stressed that Mansour Abbas, the leader of the United Arab List, represented the “Muslim Brotherhood” group that seeks to destroy Israel, he said, adding that the Likud party under his leadership would never agree to include Ra’em in the coalition.
Netanyahu’s statements came against the backdrop of what Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced last Monday, that a bill to dissolve the Knesset would be proposed and voted on next week, in a step that is heading the country towards a fifth election in 3 and a half years.
Israeli reports indicated that the date set for holding these elections is next October 25.
During this period, Lapid will assume the position of prime minister in accordance with the rotation agreement, while Bennett will become the alternate prime minister and responsible for the Iranian file in that transitional government.