Itamar Fleischmann, a former spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday that "it is time to start reminding" Arabs of the Nakba ("the catastrophe" in Arabic, how Palestinians refer to Israel's War of Independence), during a panel on Channel 14 (formerly Channel 20).
"What's happening here is that the Arabs have forgotten about the Nakba and it is time to start reminding them of it," said Fleischmann. "[We] need to tell them that if they do not get a hold of themselves soon and they keep trying to murder our children, their next station is on the other side of the Jordan or in the Yarmouk [Refugee] Camp in Syria."
The former spokesman claimed that this would happen "if [things] continue as they are."
"The great tragedy of the Arabs is that on this track we will go through hell from our completely confused instinct to survive and many Jews will die. But we will just take them on trucks and throw them on the other side of the border and that is how this will end," added Fleischmann to Channel 14. The panel was discussing Arab-Israeli violence in Lod which has targeted Jewish residents.
Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh responded to Fleischmann's statements on Thursday by mocking Channel 20's recent name change to Channel 14, writing "you can take Channel 20 off of Channel 20..."
In August, what was then Channel 20 found itself in hot water after it expressed joy at the death of Ra'am MK Saeed Alharomi who had passed away due to a heart attack.
The Channel 20 article on Alharomi's death and Facebook post sharing the article began with a quote from Proverbs 11:10, reading, "When the wicked perish there are shouts of joy." The article described the MK as a "terrorist supporter from the Ra'am faction."
Shortly after it was published, the right-wing news source apologized for the article and removed the statements from the article and Facebook.