Odeh to meet Netanyahu in first 'working meeting' to address 'discrimination'

Joint List head Ayman Odeh (Hadash) is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time since the election, at 3 p.m. on Thursday in the Prime Minister’s Office.The prime minister initiated the meeting, the Joint List said.“For me, this will be a working meeting – not a public relations meeting,” said Odeh. “I carry a great responsibility as the representative of a national minority and a very broad citizenry, living in the reality of institutionalized discrimination.”The Joint List chairman said he would appeal for an equal allocation of funds, more access to education and a larger budget for Arab municipalities.He also said he would demand a reform in planning for Arab communities, which would help solve the painful issue of demolitions of homes built without authorization.Odeh continued, “The government of Israel cannot continue the policy of perpetuating the occupation and the denial of the principle of establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.”On Wednesday, Netanyahu briefed Zionist Union chairman Isaac Herzog, fulfilling the legal requirement to regularly brief the head of the opposition, for the first time since the March 17 election.The prime minister’s military secretary and the head of the National Security Council participated in the meeting at Netanyahu’s official residence, which lasted an hour.Sources in the Zionist Union stressed that political issues were not discussed, despite Netanyahu’s desire to add Herzog to his cabinet.