Otzma Petitions to Ban Arab Parties Over Terror Sympathies

The Otzma Yehudit faction of the United Right List has filed a petition to ban the Hadash and Ta’al lists from the upcoming Knesset election. The petition filed with the Central Elections Committee says that the lists should be banned, given the anti-Israel and pro-terrorist stances of the individuals who head them.

The petition brings numerous examples of those positions. Ahmed Tibi, head of Ta’al, is quoted in several interviews as supporting the destruction of the state. Tibi said in an interview with the Knesset Channel that neither he nor members of his party recognize Israel’s right to exist; he told Ha’aretz that he hoped to cancel Israel’s Declaration of Independence, change the flag and national anthem, and do away with Independence Day and Memorial Day for IDF soldiers. Tibi also declared that terrorists are “martyrs,” and “the greatest glories of the Palestinians.”

Hadash’s number-two candidate, Ofer Kassif, told a Lebanese media outlet affiliated with Hezbollah that Zionism is “the enemy.” Kassif also told Ha’aretz that attacks on soldiers are not acts of terror, but legitimate “acts of war.” Hadash also condemned a decision by the Arab League to recognize Hezbollah as a terror group. Hadash MK Tomah Saliman said that it was not Hamas that was the terror group in Gaza, but rather the IDF.

The petition brings dozens of other such examples. Otzma Yehudit candidate Michael Ben-Ari said that “in recent days we have been witness to a hypocritical campaign by the left. On the one hand they seek to remove us, who love the land of Israel and IDF soldiers, from the ballot, but they are silent about the supporters of terror who have sat for years in the Knesset. We hope that sense will prevail and that the supporters of terror will not be allowed into the Knesset again.” Fellow candidate attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir said that “the whole thing is absurd. It’s impossible that those who support harming IDF soldiers and destruction of the state will remain in the Knesset. We will work to throw them out.”