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Netanyahu accuses Arab parties of undermining Jewish state at Knesset swearing-in ceremony
In inflammatory speech, PM says Arab leaders want more than just to 'improve the social conditions of the Arab public in Israel'
Benjamin Netanyahu has ranted against the Arab political parties in his speech after the Knesset’s swearing-in ceremony, alleging: “The only difference is that they disagree on what kind of state will be established here on the ruins of the Jewish state.”
Netanyahu addressed the possibility of Mansour Abbas’ United Arab List and Yousef Jabareen’s Joint List joining a government led by Gadi Eisenkot.
He questioned their motives, stating, “What is the true goal of these parties? Merely to improve the social conditions of the Arab public in Israel? We have no problem with that.
“But that is not their real goal. To those who want to form a government with them, I ask you: do you not understand what they really want to achieve? What is their national aspiration?”
Although Jabareen’s Joint List has not expressed an intent to join any government, but rather pledged to provide a safety net against Netanyahu’s bloc, the prime minister continued: “The only difference is that they disagree on what kind of state will be established here on the ruins of the Jewish state: whether an Islamic state modeled after the Muslim Brotherhood like Hamas in Gaza, or a nationalist Palestinian state modeled after Fatah.”
Netanyahu also said that Israel will now face “international pressure to accept a nuclear Iran.”
During the ceremony, Jabareen, leader of the Arab-majority Joint List alliance, was sworn into the Knesset.
As he uttered the words “I swear,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shouted, “Swears allegiance to Hamas!”
Some new Joint List MKs left the chamber after being sworn in, before the playing of “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem.
President Isaac Herzog also spoke at the ceremony, praising Israeli society as “magnificent and incredible,” but noting, “within it are moral blemishes that wound its beautiful face.”
He stressed, “There is no place for racism against anyone, and there is no place for violence … not in the hilltops of Judea and Samaria, not in the city streets, not in schools, nowhere, and it must be eradicated with all our strength.”
Herzog emphasised that confronting these issues must begin in the Knesset, “which projects outward onto the Israeli street.”
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