MK Danny Danon (Likud) asked the Central Elections Committee to bar MK Haneen
Zoabi (Balad) from running for the next Knesset, as sources close to the Prime
Minister’s Office continued to say an election may be near.
In a letter
sent to the Central Elections Committee on Wednesday, Danon emphasized Zoabi’s
participation in the 2010 Gaza flotilla, which led to her losing some of her
privileges as an MK.
“This is a terrorist disguised as an MK. In June
2010, she participated in the terrorist Marmara flotilla, in April 2011, she
called for a violent battle like the Intifada and in February 2012, she called
for terror against Jewish Israeli citizens,” Danon wrote, adding that she also
celebrated with terrorists released in the Schalit deal.
“Zoabi used her
immunity to support terrorists that tried to kill IDF soldiers,” he
said.
“An MK like that does not have a place in the Knesset, and belongs
in prison.”
According to the Likud MK, the time has come to “end the
absurdity” and prevent Zoabi from running for the 19th Knesset. Danon has made
similar statements in the past, including in May, when the government proposed
and then withdrew a bill to dissolve the Knesset.
Zoabi responded that
Danon is overly focused on her, pointing to his complaints to the Knesset
Committee, speeches in the plenum and a bill targeting the Balad MK.
“He
does not have a respectful place in Israeli politics or serious political
activities other than trying to show he is to the left of [Prime Minister
Binyamin] Netanyahu,” she said.
“In a racist arena, people think that
racism alone can replace serious politics. There is too much shallowness and
empty, stupid politics.”
Zoabi added that neither Danon nor “all the
other Danons in the Knesset” can decide who will represent the Arab public, who
will not allow the government, Knesset or courts to treat them like second-class
citizens. By not allowing her to run for Knesset, they are taking away Arabs’
right to faithful representation, she said.
“No one, not even the strong
and violent government, can undermine our right to full equality,” she said.
“[Israeli-Arabs] being elected to the Knesset does not make Israel a democratic
country.”
The problem, she concluded, is not Zoabi, it is racism, and the
Balad MK said she would continue representing the Palestinians in their
homeland.