Yisrael Beytenu and Likud MKs accused their Arab counterparts of incitement to
violence on Tuesday, following demonstrations in Sakhnin protesting the failure
of the government to prosecute anyone for the death of 12 Israeli Arabs and one
Palestinian in riots 12 years ago.
UAL-Ta’al MKs Taleb a-Sanaa and Ahmed
Tibi participated, along with several thousand other Israeli Arabs, in the
protests in Sakhnin on Monday, where Palestinian flags and black banners of
mourning were waved.
“If the government fails to do justice – we shall.
If it fails to punish the criminals – we shall,” a-Sanaa said. “The Arab public
holds the Israeli government accountable.”
“A state that kills its own
citizens and rewards their murderers is acting in a criminal, racist manner,”
Tibi said, adding that Israeli Arabs will not forgive or forget, and called for
those who killed the 13 to be punished.
MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beytenu)
said that a- Sanaa was inciting the crowd to be violent and take the law in
their own hands.
“Once again, the disloyalty of Arab MKs to the State of
Israel has been proven,” Rotem stated.
“It is too bad that we didn’t hear
a-Sanaa’s voice after the murder of the Fogel family’s children in Itamar [in
March 2011] and after a series of other terrible murders in which Jewish blood
was spilled.”
According to MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), Tibi and a-Sanaa’s
words show that they are followers of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas, who tries to rewrite the history of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
“We must point out the inaccuracies in their words, so that the
aggressor will stop lying in Israel and around the world [by claiming] that they
are the victim,” she said.
MK Danny Danon (Likud) called for there to be
a discussion in the Knesset about what he called Arab MKs’ incitement to
violence.
“The MKs who speak out against the State of Israel crossed
every red line,” Danon said. “In a different country, they would already be
behind bars.”
Danon called the Arab MKs “terrorists disguised as MKs,”
adding that “we cannot stand silent when faced with the terrorist cell
developing in the Knesset. Their escalating activity – praising ‘martyrs,’
meeting terrorists, attending an anti-Israel conference in Qatar, and now
encouraging a violent battle against the state – must be put to a
stop.”
MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beytenu) accused Tibi and a-Sanaa of
subversive behavior against the state and encouraging violence as a solution to
problems.
“The Arab MKs add to the bonfire of hate and prevent the Arab
population from feeling like it belongs in the State of Israel,” he stated.